Spirited Away: Retracing Steps
by Qry Raen
Summary: After nine long years of waiting for Haku to fulfill his promise, Chihiro finds herself becoming impatient with him. She is beginning to wonder whether she can wait any longer.
1. Chapter 1: Another Day

Chapter 1: Another Day

"Chihiro?" Leah says loudly in an attempt to get Chihiro's attention, "What are you always daydreaming for?

Chihiro blinks and look over at her friend, "Sorry," She says, grabbing a stack of books from Leah's arms.

"You're been doing that a lot lately," Leah leans against the door frame, waiting for to explain.

Chihiro shrugs, "Have you ever waited for something for so long you just don't want to wait anymore?"

Leah think a moment and nods, "Yeah I guess, a few times," She pauses, "Why? What have you been waiting for?"

For a moment Chihiro regrets ever say anything, so she smiles to mask any emotion that could be showing on her face, "I'm not sure," She lies.

Leah looks at her awkwardly, "Well, I hope you find whatever it is you're not looking for," She jokes, picking up another pile of books.

Lead follows Chihiro to the middle of the library and they set the piles down beside each other, pacing back and forth between the pile and the shelves, slowly putting them away. The library is the only place Chihiro can freely think and when it begins to bother her, she can just pick up a book that seems interesting and read it to distract herself from nagging thoughts and memories. She avoids romance novels, for reasons she tries to ignore.

The past hasn't bothered her much until recently when a strange feeling woke with her one morning and hasn't left her since. It's been nine years since she left the Spirit World. It's been so long she can no longer feel her hand leaving Haku's for the last time. She didn't look back, like he told her not to and she stopped from turning around because that's what she wanted, especially for her parents. She couldn't easily choose otherwise, not at the tender age of ten years old. But now that her parents are divorced and barely speaking to one another it would be an easy choice to look back over her shoulder to see Haku opening his arms for her.

She's in college now, living in a dorm with her roommate, Leah. She works at the local library just for something to do in her free time. Rarely does she go back to visit the old amusement park. When she found the gate didn't open for her and the building lay dormant, leaving her to walk back to her car, the hopes that she would one day return faded.

The Spirit World is now just a distant memory that continues to haunt her.

"Are you excited for spring break?" Leah asks in a hushed tone.

Chihiro nods, "It couldn't come soon enough; I really need some time off!"

"What are your plans? I'm going camping with Jamie for the weekend," She says excitedly.

"I'm actually staying here," Chihiro says matter-of-factly, "I like the library."

Leah shakes her head, "You need a _real_ break!"

Chihiro chuckles, "I enjoy the library, thank you. And it's funny coming from the person that followed me here."

She rolls her eyes, "I did not follow you here we walked in the door at the same time, together, remember?"

"That's not what I meant!" Chihiro objects.

Leah laughs and glances up at the front counter, "There's someone waiting."

"I'll get them," Chihiro hurriedly stands and meets the customer at the counter, "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," He says smoothly.

Chihiro looks up and his dark green eyes stop her, "What. Can. I. do. For. You?" She asks slowly.

His smile freezes her. His strong jaw cradles his lips perfectly upright, "I would just like to check-out this book."

She nods, quickly taking the book from his hands, "Do you have a library card with you?" She asks, but before he can answer she continues, "Or do you want to apply for one?"

He searches his pocket for a moment and pulls out the card. He hands it to her. Without Chihiro thinking about it, she looks for his name, Dan. Swiftly she scans both the card and book and hands them back to him.

"I hope you enjoy the book!" She grins widely.

He smiles back, "Thank you."

As he walks away, Leah excitedly approaches her and waits for the doors to close behind him, "I've never seen interest in your eyes before!"

Chihiro blushes, "I don't know what you're talking about; I was just being nice to a _customer_."

"No! There was something there!" Leah prods on, "I could see it!"

Chihiro looks back at the doors, "He was nice, that's all."

Leah continues to joke about Chihiro encounter with Dan, even into the night just before they get into their beds, "Good night, don't let the love bugs bite!" She giggles and is luckily her last joke for the night.

Chihiro rolls her eyes but can't help but chuckle. She rolls over, hoping to visit the Spirit World in her dreams, the only time it feels real. It usually takes her forever to fall asleep, but tonight it embraces her and she sleeps better than she has in nine years, nine restless, sleepless years.

In the morning, Leah greets her with a yawn. They both get ready for the last class they have before spring break and they are equally excited as they walk down the brick sidewalk towards the small building their class is held in. As soon as they walk through the doors they are flooded with friends.

"Hey Leah!"

"Hey Chihiro!"

"Come over here!"

"How are you guys?!"

"Are you excited for spring break!?"

They sit in the group with their friends in wait for the professor. Chihiro doesn't say much as her friends talk and converse with each other. She takes her notebook out and begins to write, everything that bothers her, everything that crosses her mind and the first sentence to introduce these thoughts-

"Nine years in waiting, do I wait anymore?"

The professor walks in, hushing the students. He greets the class in turn saying goodbye also, "Good morning class, I hope you are all as excited about spring break as I am," He jokes, handing out the test, "Good luck and enjoy your break. You may begin."

Chihiro takes her time, rereading most of the questions and when finishing she goes through the test a few more times before handing it in. As she hands the test to the professor he takes it and smiles, reassuring her that she will have done fine. She thanks him with a bow and hurries out of the class.

She takes her time to get to the library today to enjoy the warm air and the smell of grass with lavender in the distance. Students pass by her but she avoids their eyes. Birds seem to lead her to the library doors. When she walks through the threshold, she stops. He is there sitting contently at a table reading the book he had checked out.

She straightens her back and head to set her things in the back room. Before going back out to the front counter, she peeks around the door and sees him sitting. He faces away from her so all she can see is his dark brown hair and the navy blue shirt he's wearing. She slinks back behind the door. Haku runs through her mind. He promised that he would see her again; surely he didn't plan on making her wait any longer?

Before she allows herself to overthink it, she forces herself to leave the small room. When she rounds the corner, he's no longer sitting at the table. Chihiro's eyes search for him, unwillingly. Finally she sees him browsing through the books. She bites her lip and approaches the counter.

Leah bursts through the doors and rushes to the back room. Chihiro follows her, "Are you okay, Leah?"

Leah already has herself huddled in the corner, holding her knees to her chest. Chihiro can tell that she's crying from her shoulders bouncing. She leans down beside her.

"Jamie broke up with me," She sobs.

Chihiro rests her hand on Leah's back, but she's at a loss of words.

"We were supposed to spend spring break together," She stammers.

"I know, but you won't be alone," Chihiro says hoping to comfort her.

She sniffs, lifting her head up to look at Chihiro her hazel eyes pop against the redness in the whites of her eyes, "I'm just going to be like you and not worry about boys."

This makes Chihiro laugh, "It'll be okay, Lee. Maybe being here will help take your mind off of it?"

She nods, "You're right," She pulls herself together and stands.

Chihiro stands beside her, "I'm always here for you," She grins.

Leah manages to life the corners of her mouth, "Thanks, Chihiro!"

They go out to the front counter. Leah doesn't miss that Dan is sitting back down at the table. She gives a look to Chihiro. Chihiro avoids the look and briskly picks up a pile of books to put away. She starts in the middle of the aisle, getting comfortable by sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Halfway down the stack, shoes appear in her sight. Slowly, she looks up to Dan standing in front of her. Her heart pounds against her ribs and she hopes her cheeks aren't pink. He kneels down beside her, picks up a book and puts it away.

"Can I help you?" Chihiro nervously asks.

He takes another book, "I figured you could use a little help."

Chihiro just stares at him.

When they are finished, they both stand and their eyes lock. Haku appears in her mind. She can't help but think she may be waiting for something that may never come. Dan smiles, making her weak in the knees, "Thank you for the help."

He nods, "Of course."

Chihiro can see Leah gawking at them, "Let me know if I can help you with anything," She says before making her way back to the front counter.

"He likes you!" Leah whispers.

Chihiro isn't sure what to think, but she forces a smile and makes herself busy with paperwork.

It's another night she hopes to dream of Haku, to feel his hand in hers, but she's starting to believe that maybe her mind is keeping her from the Spirit World for a reason. Maybe her mind is telling her that she needs to move on and that she's waited long enough? He promised, yet here she is, alone.

Before she lets herself start to cry, she tightly closes her eyes and buries her face in the pillow.

Chihiro is surprised when she wakes to Leah leaning over her, "Good morning!" She chirps.

She sits up, rubbing her eyes, "Good morning? Why are you so happy?"

She grins, "Well, I just got off the phone with Jamie."

"And?"

"And we're back together!" She cheers.

Chihiro smiles, "Good!"

"But, we're not spending spring break together, so you're still stuck with me!"

Chihiro smirks. As much as she hates to think about it, Leah reminds her of Rin and it makes her miss the Spirit World that much more. She even almost misses Yubaba, but would probably be more excited to see Zaniba, no face, and Boh, the gigantic baby.

"Chihiro…?" Leah again awaits to get her attention.

She finds herself back at the library, behind the front counter with Leah waving her hand in front of her face.

"You're doing it again!" Leah complains.

Chihiro sighs, "I know, I'm sorry."

"Look who's back," Leah averts her attention to Dan who is sitting at the same table he was the day before, "He came in while you were daydreaming," She says, "Do you know his name?"

Chihiro slowly nods, "It's Dan."

"Oh! Dan?"

She looks over at him, "But I found out from his card," She regrettably admits.

"See! I told you that you were interested!" Leah exclaims, loudly.

"Shh!" Chihiro rolls her eyes, "Do you have anything better to do?"

Leah giggles, "Nope!"

"Ugh…" She moans.

"I really think he likes you, why else would someone visit the library so much?" Leah leans against the counter.

Chihiro looks at her, "To read?"

Leah laughs, "And randomly help the library girl put books away."

Chihiro blushes.

Dan gets up from his seat and approaches them. Chihiro can't help but stare into his dark green eyes that draw her in instantly. He stops in front of them and Chihiro forces a smile, "Can I help you with anything?" She's now beginning to sound like a robot.

Leah leans into her, waiting for Dan's response.

Dan sets the book down on the table and slides it over to her, "I have finished reading the book and I was wondering if you could recommend another book to me?"

Chihiro looks down at the book he just handed to her.

"It doesn't have to be similar to this one," He quickly says, putting his hand over the book, "Anything you recommend."

She nods and steps from behind the counter in thought. What book to recommend? She's read so many. How is she supposed to know what a guy would like to read? She tries to think of a book she can vividly remember. She rests her fingertips on the shelf, sliding them along as her eyes scan through the books and she stops, pulling "Green Angel by Alice Hoffman" from the shelf. It's a slim book that might as well have frayed edges from the burning story it holds within its pages, but of course, only Chihiro would know that.

She hesitates a moment before setting the book in his hands, "I recommend this. I connect with the story for some reason. I enjoyed it."

He looks at the cover and then smiles as if trying to mask a sudden pain, "Thank you."

She nods and swiftly returns to the safe haven behind the front counter and she huddles besides Leah's legs. What would Haku think?


	2. Chapter 2: The Fight Inside

Chapter 2: The Fight Inside

The campus is vacant now that spring break has called everyone to the nearest ocean line and back home with family. That is one thing about Leah that Chihiro is comfortable with, they both share the same family issues, but Leah also has two siblings to accompany her. That makes Chihiro feel a little better about the situation because she doesn't have to share the pain of her parents' divorce with a sister or brother. Yet, she's now left alone in the world, tormented by broken promises, nothing Leah would understand.

Chihiro and Leah walk along the sidewalk. Leah has convinced Chihiro to attend a party since they were told they didn't have to come into the library today. Leah was relieved to have a day off, but Chihiro couldn't feel as much. She almost wanted to go to the library anyways, just because she's found comfort there.

"At first I didn't think he was going to invite me, but then he did!" Leah rambles on.

Chihiro shakes her head, not understanding their relationship.

They get to Jamie's house after most people have arrived. Music plays and people dance to it and other play board games. It is, to Chihiro's relief, not the party she was expecting.

Leah knocks on the door and bounces as she waits.

After a few minutes, Jamie opens the door, "Come in!" He greets them with a wide grin.

Leah quickly kisses him and follows him inside.

Chihiro hesitates to step inside the house.

"Come on!" Leah pulls her behind.

Chihiro almost immediately loses Leah and is forced to wander around the large house. Once in a while she will awkwardly pass a cuddling couple. Eventually she finds herself on the empty back porch looking into the pool that ripples endlessly. It reminds her of the sea that surrounds the bathhouse. How beautiful that was. How much she would love to see it again. She pulls legs up close to her chest and looks up at the stars. They remind her of crystals glued to black velvet.

The trees dance in the breeze that coolly runs through her hair. She looks down at her wrist and quilt runs through her stomach. She no longer wears the purple shimmering hair tie her friends had made her just before she was allowed to leave the Spirit World. Every time she would look at it an incredible feeling of emptiness and loneliness would fill her lungs. It was nearly impossible to ignore.

"Beautiful isn't it?" A familiar voice asks.

Chihiro looks up and is surprised to see Dan there. She sits up, putting her legs back down to the ground, "It is."

"May I join you?" He asks.

Chihiro nods.

He sits beside her and looks up into the sky, "I'm glad I caught you here."

"Oh? Why?"

"I read that book, Green Angel," He says.

Chihiro looks at him, "Did you like it?"

He nods, "I did. It was a sad beauty. I've never read anything like it," He explains, "I'm curious why you said that you connect to the story."

For a moment, she isn't sure what to say, but the more she thinks about it, the more that comes to her mind, "I guess because I feel like I was left alone?"

"May I ask why?"

Chihiro shrugs, "My parents… and other stuff that isn't all that interesting," She isn't sure if she could explain it without sounding silly.

"I understand," He murmurs.

It falls silent between them, now only the muffles noises from inside and the songs of the crickets and peepers can be heard.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't properly introduced myself, I'm Dan," He slightly bows his head.

Chihiro bows back, "I'm Chihiro."

"That's a pretty name," He smiles.

She can't help but think of when Yubaba calls it a pretty name moments before she renames her Sen and when she tells Granny her true name, how she told Chihiro to take care of it, "Thank you," She smiles, "I like your name too."

He half-smiles at her compliment, "I'm surprised you're not at the library," He says with a joking tone.

"Me too!" Chihiro chuckles.

He leans back, "You're there an awful lot."

"So are you," She laughs.

He shrugs, "I like it there, it's quiet and peaceful."

Chihiro nods, "That's why I like being there."

"Is that why you stay so late, too?" He asks.

She twists her fingers around each other, "Yeah, I usually can't sleep, so it's nice to have a place I can stay when I know it might be a long night."

"Most people fall asleep at libraries, maybe you should try that?" He chuckles.

Chihiro giggles.

Leah comes through the door to the back porch, "Oh, there you are, Chihiro! I've been looking everywhere for you, are you ready to go?"

Chihiro looks at Dan, "I'm sorry my friend wants to go home now, it was really nice talking to you," She grins.

"I'm sure I will see you around," He smirks.

Leah waits till Dan is out of earshot to say anything, but Chihiro doesn't hear what she's saying, or even listening to her for that matter. She is oddly comfortable around Dan and she feels a strange calm when he is around. As Leah rambles on, Chihiro is battling with herself inside. There is no doubt to her that she loves Haku but she's beginning to wonder if he's worth waiting for anymore, he did abandon her or at least it feels like it.

It was nine years ago since she'd last seen Haku or heard from him. She didn't expect to be waiting so long. She expected for him to come to her, even maybe the night she returned to the human world. Surely he was missing her? But maybe the gates are closed? Maybe there isn't a way for him to come to her. So should that give her a good reason to except him not showing up to her?

It's all scrambled in her mind. She's no longer sure what she wants. Of course she wants to be happy, and of course she doesn't want to be alone, but the decision won't be easy and it might change her life forever. The Spirit World was not a dream, it was real. The Spirit World was a real place that she had visited when she was ten and that place has never left her, Haku has never left her, at least not in her heart and not in her mind. She hopes that it is the same for him and he will always remember her.

Leah has finally got the hint from Chihiro's silence that she is no longer listening, or wasn't to begin with. Chihiro lies down in bed and faces towards the wall staring at the cream colored paint that smooths over the wood paneling, "If you're coming back to me please give me a sign," She whispers to herself, "That's all I want is a sign," and closes her eyes.

In the morning Chihiro finds out why she and Leah left Jamie's party so early. Leah and Jamie had gotten in a fight. This doesn't surprise her; their relationship has always been a rollercoaster, they could be married for all she knew, "It was his fault," Leah always says.

Chihiro is excited to go to the library today. She hopes that Dan is there, sitting in his spot, reading a book silently to himself. She hopes to see that, but then she changes her mind, what would Haku think?

She's been fighting herself about Haku for a while. Maybe she will take a trip to the old amusement park? Maybe this time the gates will open for her and the building will moan and the wind will push her towards the bathhouse as it had nine years ago. And she will climb up the stairs and lean over the railing to look at the train tracks below the bridge that leads into the bathhouse and hope to see Haku running out to her, but this time not to shoo her away but to greet her into his arms and welcome her home.

It is hard for Chihiro to think about that, but she's decided to walk through the gates once more in hopes they will finally open.

When they enter the library, it's no surprise to see that Dan is sitting in his spot, reading a book. Chihiro avoids him, going straight to the back room. She is going to wait until she visits the amusement park before she allows herself to get any closer with Dan. Luckily Leah is too busy with her relationship problems that she doesn't pressure her into anything.

Chihiro paces through the room, quietly to not wake Leah, but when she hits the desk with her toe, Leah rolls over, waking.

"Where are you going so early?" Leah asks, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I'm going to visit my parents," She lies, grabbing enough money from the drawer of the desk for a taxi.

Leah looks at her curiously, "Both of them? Together?"

"No, it might take all day," Chihiro says with more truth in her tone, because this visit might actually take her all day.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, more concerned now.

Chihiro gives her the widest fake smile she could possible muster, "Of course, why wouldn't everything be okay?"

Leah sits up, "Because you never go to visit your parents?"

Chihiro quickly thinks of something to say, "Well, that's why I'm going to see them today."

Leah still doesn't look convinced.

"It's the best time, since we're on spring break," Chihiro adds.

Leah examines Chihiro's clothes that consist of a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops, "You're going to visit your parents in that?"

She can feel her face flush from being caught in a lie, "We're going hiking."

Leah laughs, "Which one are you going with? Or are you taking turns with them?"

Chihiro rolls her eyes and heads for the door.

"Whatever you're doing, be careful!" Leah says.

"You too!" She calls behind her.

She rushes to meet the taxi she had called early in the morning. It is waiting outside the dorms for her. She doesn't waste any time getting in and giving the old man the address. He shakily nods and starts the car. As they move down the road, she takes deep breaths, in her nose and out of her mouth, in her nose, out of her mouth, it was the only way she could calm her twitching nerves.

He pulls to the right, moving up the hill towards her old home. She can see the old apartments sitting at the top of the hill. As they draw close, she has to point to the road she wanted to be left on. He slowly pulls over and she gives him the money. Chihiro waves the taxi away and looks down the road. It is so overgrown with vegetation now it no longer looks like the road it used to be.

Slowly she starts walking towards the plaster building she knows is hidden behind the thick forest. To her right the old pile of spirit houses still sits. She remembers how peculiar they looked piled into the grass with no purpose and when her mother told her that some people believed spirits lived there she never thought she might meet some of them.

She gets to the tree line and pushing tree limbs aside to step through. When she gets to the other side, the road appears looking the same as it had when he father drove down through. "That's strange," She says.

She walks down through, looking for the markers on the dirt road. The first sign is the statue up alongside the knoll, covered in moss with the awkward open smile and a hood over its head so only its smiling face is showing. She continues on, leaves flow past her in the breeze and it's moments after that she sees the statue guarding the entrance to the building. He seems to smile at her from the distance, but the close she gets the creepier it looks.

Her stomach turns when she looks up at the red wall. Paint still peels around the tunnel that leads into the station. She walks past the statue and she turns, looking back at another face. Her heart throbs and only quickens when she remembers her mother's voice echo through the tunnel saying, "Chihiro don't cling onto me like that, you'll make me trip."

She enters into the station and listens carefully. Her eyes wonder around the walls. Colors spill through the stain glass window. Her palms get clammy now that she knows she's getting closer. A few more steps… Only a few more steps and she is outside in the rippling waves of grass. The air smells sweeter here as if it was just sprayed with a mist of freshly cut grass. The large stones are still placed around the hills.

She hesitates to step forward, but the building is eerily silent. She wait's a moment for it to moan at her, "Haku…"

The response she gets is only silence…

Her heart drops.

He's not here.

"Haku?"

There are no buildings where she remembers them up on the hill. It's just a beautiful endless field of green grass swaying with the different directions of the wind. A tear rolls down her cheek, "Well I'm here!" She says loudly into the wind, "I've done my part; I've come more than halfway!"

Silence…

"Not even a sign?" She asks angrily, "Just a small little sign!?"

Again, she listens for the building and the wind to push her away, but there is nothing. It actually seems like every time she speaks the wind stops to listen to her.

"Fine! I will wait here!" She stubbornly sits, crossing her arms and legs.

The sun beams down onto her skin, but she sits as solid as a rock

And she stays there even after hours have passed, but she no longer sits like a rock, she has moved to lying in the grass. It is pointless to wait now; she knows that nothing will come.

"Maybe it was all just a dream?" She says to herself.

She runs her fingers through the blades of soft grass. The air around her begins to cool and goose bumps rise on her skin, but she has no energy to move. She huddles in the tall grass and closes her eyes. Where could Haku be?

**(Let me know what y'all think :)**


	3. Chapter 3: What the Night Brings

Chapter 3: What the Night Brings

When the cold air becomes too unbearable, Chihiro slowly crawls from the soft grass and gets to her feet. The sun is slowly setting now and shadows cast across the small valley. She brushes herself off and shakes her numb limbs. She's been lying in the grass for hours and her body aches from the hard ground. Sluggishly, she starts forward but stops before she enters into the dark tunnel. This is where she paused when her parents urged her to follow; this is when she felt an invisible pushing force.

The wind picks up; moving the hair off of her shoulders. She holds her breath, listening closely when the building begins to moan. The leaves flow past her and up towards the top of the hill. Chihiro's eyes widen and a large smile crosses her face. Slowly she turns and the buildings have now appeared, scattered over the hills. There is still light enough that they haven't started to light the lamps yet.

"What?" She turns around, amazed, "The Spirit World?!" She jumps in excitement, "It worked!?" She peers closer, "It worked!" She repeats in disbelief.

She isn't sure if she is dreaming and if she was, she didn't want to wake up, but last time she thought it was a dream, it was far from it. She is finally here! She has finally made it back into the Spirit World. She fills her lungs with the fresh air, the smile now fixed in place. She almost feels bad to leave Leah behind, but this was what Chihiro wanted now, to be in the Spirit World. Now she can find Haku and ask him why it took him so long to come to her.

A hand suddenly rests on her shoulder and she quickly turns. Startled, she steps back, "Dan?!"

His eyes are wide and filled with confusion and worry, "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"What are _you_ doing out here?!" She panics, "Did you follow me?!"

"I was visiting family and saw you come this way," He explains.

The shadows against the building darken and sinks lower towards the ground, "We have to go!"

She grabs his hand, sprinting across the large rocks and through the grassy fields, heading for the stairs that a frog statue sits beside. She doesn't remember it being so far before. Rushing forward, they are only halfway before their completely engulfed in water. Chihiro sinks under and struggles to get her head above the water. Dan grabs her and pulls her above the surface. They swim, quickly, the rest of the way when he helps her onto the stairs.

They look back to the dark water and move away. She doesn't remember how the water had got there nine years ago, but she didn't imagine that it happened like that, "The gate is closed now."

"What just happened?" Dan pants, trying to catch his breath.

"Why did you follow me!?" She demands.

He sits, "I told you, I saw you and you were alone. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"But you didn't know if I could be out here meeting someone," She snaps.

"Were you?" He asks, looking up at her.

She hesitates a moment before sighing, "No, but still. I was fine, you didn't have to come after me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this would happen."

Before Chihiro sits she remembers that they need to eat something before they both disappear, "Quick! Follow me!"

She pulls him behind her; trying to remember the same path Haku had taken her nine years ago. Of course, they don't move as swiftly as Haku had, but she thought she was getting along well. The scale the back of the buildings, and in through the alley when they get to the door with red letters. They stop and she hurriedly scrambles to find a way to unlock the door, but to her surprise, it slides right open.

"Follow me!" She runs through, passing through the freezer and the pig pen. Now that she thinks back, she is thankful her parent's did not go there.

They reach the gate and she motions for Dan to duck down. She scrambles to think of something. Surely they would remember her considering she's been the only human to visit the bathhouse, but she's not sure how well they would take to Dan, if she could only somehow sneak Dan past everyone, unseen? She could find Haku and ask for his help. That is her best bet so far and the best idea she could come up with.

"You have to stay here, I'm going to go get help," She says, "But you have to stay right here so I can find you!"

Dan nods.

She unlocks the gate and slinks through the stepping stone path when she gets to the second gate. The frogs are there, welcoming their guests greedily. She hesitates, stuck between the gate and the bridge. Before she can say anything, a cloaked spirit stops, looking at her closely. This catches the frog's attention. They look over at her and both draw in deep breaths at the same time.

"A human?" One says more curiously than alarmed.

"It's the one from before!" The other says.

"What was her name again? Uhhh?" He thinks allowed.

The other thinks too, "Sen!" He says.

Chihiro presses her lips into a smile, "Yes, it's me!"

"You're grown up," The first says, almost examining her.

"Have you seen Haku?" She asks, looking around at the visitors walking over the bridge.

"I can't say that I have."

"Yubaba would know."

Chihiro shutters at the thought of having to speak with her about Haku, "Thank you!" She bows and hastily moves on.

She crosses the bridge and enters through the front door.

"Hi there, welcome back. Hi, thanks for coming," The foreman says to passerby's. He smiles until he looks at Chihiro, "The human!? What are you doing here?!"

"Can you tell me where Haku or Rin is?" She gives him an urgent look.

He looks at her suspiciously, "How did you get back?"

"Can you tell me where they are?!" She demands.

"Okay, okay," He mutters, "Rin should be around here somewhere, but I haven't seen Haku in days!"

Her throat swells. He hasn't seen Haku in Days? Where could he be? Chihiro bows, "Thank you."

Without drawing too much attention to herself, she calls out for Rin. She starts in the bath area. She slowly goes down through; glancing into each section, but Rin is nowhere to be found. Awkwardly, she smiles at the spirits as she passes through them. She comes to the stairs and looks up to the top where everyone is busily moving around. She climbs the first set of stairs, constantly scanning through faces for Rin or Haku.

"Sen?" The small Frog approaches her. She looks down at him, looking the same as she remembers. This is the little Frog that made her take a breath when they were crossing the bridge, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Haku or Rin," Her eyes don't stop looking around her.

He hops up on a rail beside her, "Oh, Rin should be down at the baths."

"But I just came through there and I didn't see her," Chihiro leans against the rail, looking down over the baths, "What about Haku?"

"I haven't seen him," He thinks allowed, "Oh, see! There's Rin!" He points across the way on the same level Chihiro is on.

She sees her carrying a pile of food, "Rin!" She calls, "Thanks Frog," She bows quickly and paces towards Rin.

At first, Rin can't make out the voice, she only hears her name. She stops, looking for the source of her name. When no one comes into sight, she starts to walk again.

"Rin!" Chihiro is closer now, hoping to have gotten her attention.

Rin turns with the pile of food in her arms. She raises her head just enough to peek over and see Chihiro running towards her, "Sen?!" She passes the food to the person passing by and orders them to a certain bath.

"Rin! Finally I found you!" Chihiro stops before her, but Rin pulls her into a hug.

She holds onto her tightly for a moment before letting her go, "What are you doing here!? I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"I know me either, but I got through the same way as before," Chihiro smiles.

Rin pulls her away and looks at her, "My have you grown."

Chihiro laughs, "Yeah, I know. Is Haku around anywhere?"

Rin looks up in thought, "I don't think I've seen him."

She sighs and moves on, "Ok, well I have a problem," She whispers.

"Here, come with me," Rin pulls her behind and she takes her up a flight of steps and into a small closet, "Okay."

"Well, another human came through with me on accident," Chihiro starts to explain.

Rin's face turns, "What?! Where are they?"

"Waiting behind the second gate on the right side of the bridge," Chihiro explains.

"We have to get to them before Yubaba does," Rin says, thinking, "I have an idea, I will go get them and you can go up and distract Yubaba."

Chihiro gulps, "Why do I have to go and distract her?!"

"Because she will know if I go up there," Rin rolls her eyes.

"What if we look for Haku? He has to be around here somewhere…" Or at least Chihiro hopes.

Rin shakes her head, "I don't think we'll have time to look for him."

Chihiro nods, "Well, how do I distract Yubaba?"

"Ask her where Haku is?" Rin suggests.

Chihiro shivers at the thought of having to see Yubaba again. It's unsettling to know that it was Yubaba that wanted to kill and eat her parents and that she wanted her to fail, "I will try to give you a little time."

Rin nods and they leave the closet, going separate ways. Chihiro finds the nearest elevator and makes sure that it goes up. She gets on and quickly pulls the lever, sending her up as many floors as it will allow before it stops. She looks across the way at another elevator. She gets off, walking as fast as she can through the crowd of spirits and workers. She gets on and pulls the lever. This is the one that takes her to the very top.

She steps out onto the marble floor and peeks over to her right where Yubaba's doors sit. Slowly, she approaches them, looking at the ugly heads hanging in gold. For a moment, she hesitates. She knows that Yubaba knows she's here, it's just a matter of time that she will invite her in. The doors are still, but she's still afraid to come any closer than she already has.

"Why couldn't Haku be here," She moans, inching closer.

"Sen? What are you doing here?" A head asks.

Chihiro freezes, "Uh, well, I…"

"Ugh, you're the same little pathetic girl that you used to be, only bigger," It rolls its eyes and the door opens.

Chihiro hastily steps inside in fear of being pulled across the floor again. The door slams behind her and the hallway begins to light in front of her. The corridor is long and seems to never end, "How am I supposed to know what door to go through?!" When she speaks, the hallway shrinks and all of the doors disappear but one that materializes in front of her. She steps to the door expectantly.

"Do I have to make it any easy for you, human?" Yubaba's voice hisses, "Stop wasting my time and get in here!"

The collar of Chihiro's shirt is pulled and she stumbles in through the doors. Chihiro stands, looking around the room. The three heads come rolling from the corner, jumping around her like dogs. She tries to ignore the ugly things, going back to examining the room. It is as she remembers, but Yubaba's desk has grown in size, fitting more things on the surface. Her eyes wonder over where she believes Boh's room to be and she wonders if he is still a baby.

"What is it you want? How did you get back here?" Yubaba leans in her chair to catch Chihiro's eyes.

"Have you seen Haku? He isn't around here by any chance, is he?" She asks immediately, keeping off the subject of entering into the Spirit World.

Yubaba eyes her, but shakes her head, "Silly girl. Remember, you squashed my slug," She growls, "He does what he wants now, I don't control him."

To Chihiro's relief, Yubaba stays seated, looking over papers, "But is he around? Do you know where he is?"

"Didn't you hear me? I don't know what he does or where he goes," She glares over at Chihiro.

She wrings her hands, trying to think of something, "But, I thought you could see people and things?"

Yubaba gives her a look, raising her eyebrow, "Why are you wasting my time with such silly questions?"

"They aren't silly; I just want to know where Haku is!" Chihiro's voice rises.

Yubaba looks at her surprised, "Well I haven't seen him in days!"

That's what the foreman said too.

"Well can't you look for him?! Or tell me where I can look for him!?" Chihiro insists, stepping closer to the desk.

Now, Yubaba stands from her desk, "Don't give me a reason to turn you into a pig! Haku isn't here to stop me now!"

Chihiro clamps her fingers into a fist, hoping that Yubaba is only bluffing, "It shouldn't be so hard for a witch like you!"

Yubaba's eyes widen but then narrow into a glare, "My have you grown into more of a stupid human than before!"

Doors, to where Chihiro believes to be Boh's room, bursts open. A large hand slams down on the floor and he crawls from the room. He stands, a thin grin crossing his face, "Sen!"

Chihiro smiles, not believing that he is still the same gigantic baby, "Hi Boh."

"Mama, you're not being mean to Sen are you?" He glares down at his mother.

"We're just discussing business sweetie, you can go back to bed," She says in a sweet, taunting tone.

Boh comes closer, "What are you doing back, Sen?"

"I'm looking for Haku," She says.

"Mama, tell her where Haku is," He orders.

Yubaba gawks at the baby, "Bu- but I, I don't know where he is, sweetie, and if I did I would have told Sen that when she first asked."

"If you don't tell Sen, I'm gunna start crying!" He repeats the same tantrum he had when Chihiro didn't want to play with him.

Yubaba panics, "I really don't know where Haku is, sweetie!"

"It's okay, Boh, I think I know someone else I can ask," Chihiro says quickly, before the visit turns chaotic, "It was nice to see you two again," She bows before turning.

"You don't stay in my bathhouse! I don't allow free visitors!" Yubaba yells behind her.

Chihiro leaves the room, thankfully finding that the hall had stayed small and simple. She finds the front doors and quickly passes through them, hoping to keep the heads quiet. The elevator couldn't move faster as she goes down. It stops and she quickly changes elevators. When she stops at the bottom floor, she runs past the baths and the kitchen. The bathhouse hasn't changed a bit since she was last here. She squeezes through the small space and finds herself in the boiler room. The sweet smell of herbs fills her nose.

"Sen! I didn't believe it, but here you are!" Kamaji looks at her through the goggles he still wears.

"It's nice to see you!" Chihiro smiles, seeing Rin and Dan sitting across from each other, "Oh, you found him!"

Rin nods, "Did you find Haku?"

Chihiro regretfully shakes her head, "He's gone…"


	4. Chapter 4: The Visit

Chapter 4: The Visit

Chihiro paces back and forth between Rin and Dan. Kamaji keeps at work, occasionally yelling at the soot balls that don't move fast enough for his liking, "Where could Haku be?"

"I'm sure he will show up, he disappears from time to time," Rin says in an attempt to reassure her.

Chihiro stops to think, "But he should know I'm here, right? So he should come back soon?"

Rin nods, "That makes sense."

Chihiro looks over at Dan staring at the soot balls in amazement. He doesn't blink as the black clouds carry chunks of coal that are three times their size, "Are you alright, Dan?"

He nods, keeping his eyes locked on them.

"I think I'm going to go look for Haku," Chihiro finally says.

"What?" Dan finally looks away, "Why would you do that? You don't even know where he could be?"

Chihiro nods, "But I think I know someone who might know where he is or where I could find him."

"Who?" Rin asks.

"Granny," Chihiro relaxes at the thought of being invited into her warm, cozy home.

Kamaji hears this and turns to her, "How are you going to do that without a train ticket?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll find a way!" Chihiro says in an adamant tone.

"We have a visitor," Rin says, looking at the entrance into the boiler room that Chihiro had come through when she was following Haku's instructions.

Chihiro's eyes snap up, but the visitor isn't who she hopes it is, it's No Face, "No Face?"

"Ahh, ahh," He comes through the shadows and into the light of the fire in the boiler room.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Granny?" Chihiro asks, "Wait, is Granny here with you!?"

He shakes his head, "Ahh, ah," He says, pointing back towards the heavy, rusted door.

"Do you want us to follow you?" She asks.

He nods, "Uh, ahhh, ahh."

Rin and Dan stand.

"He's probably taking you to Granny," Rin suggests.

No Face nods, "Ahh! Ahh!" His voice rises.

"Can Dan come too?" Chihiro asks.

"Ahh, ahhh," He nods, creeping towards the door.

Dan looks at him curiously, "What… what exactly is he?"

"He's a spirit," Chihiro says, nudging him towards the door, "We'll be back, Rin. If Haku comes back, tell him I'm at Granny's."

"I will, you be careful Sen!" Rin pleads.

Chihiro waves, "I will!"

Dan slowly follows No Face out onto the balcony. The sky is dark and the only lights that can be seen is from the distant city and the small down to their left. No Face motions for them to follow him and he jumps down into the water. Both Chihiro and Dan look down over the balcony into the dark water below.

"I'm not jumping!" Dan protests.

Chihiro can barely see the dark shadow moving through the water that is No Face, "But we have to follow him!"

"What if we hit something?!" Dan backs away.

Chihiro grabs onto Dan's arm and pulls him behind her. She winces when their feet leave the cement and she braces herself. They hit the cold water and they pause, stunned for a moment. Dan thrashes his arms everywhere; shocked that Chihiro pulled him off with her. No Face waits for them on the tracks, continuing to motion for them to follow him.

"Wasn't there an easier way to get down?" Dan complains.

Chihiro rings her shirt, "It was the fastest way down."

They follow No Face down the tracks. It's a little ways before the make it to the platform. They climb up, shaking the water from their shoes. Dan shakes his cloths to keep them from sticking to his skin. No Face looks down at Chihiro.

"Ahh, ahhh," A smile crosses his face.

She isn't sure what he meant, but she assumed he was welcoming her back, "It's good to see you, No Face," She smiles.

It falls silent.

Chihiro can't help but stare up into the sky, hoping to see the flash of a silver dragon flying past, but it only shimmers with stars.

Dan continues to wring his clothes, "What time is the train supposed to be here?"

"Ahhh, ahh," No Face motions in the direction the train will be coming in.

Chihiro looks down to the dark tunnel she can barely make out in the distance, "Not long, right?"

No Face nods, turning back to stare forward.

"So, who is this Granny?" Dan asks, moving down to his pants.

"She helped me when I was trapped here in the Spirit World nine years ago," Chihiro explains.

Dan face turns with confusion, "You were actually here before?"

Chihiro nods, "And Haku helped me return."

Dan rests his hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be okay," He smiles, looking into her dark brown eyes.

"Ahh, ahhh!" No Face points to the train emerging from the tunnel.

"Are you ready?" She asks Dan.

He nods.

The train slows to a stop in front of them and a shadow man waits at the doors, holding out his hand for the tickets. No Face pulls them out and hands them to him, "Swamp Bottom, please," Chihiro says for No Face. The stubby finger points at each passenger, counting tickets. He puts them through the shredder and steps out of their way.

It is deja vu for Chihiro. She sits beside No Face, much like she had when they went to visit Zeniba the first time. Shadow people sit across from them and one stands by the door, holding onto a handle. Not much has changed in nine years. Chihiro isn't sure why it would change all that much. The Spirit World ages much slower than the human world, years probably seem like weeks.

Chihiro's eyes begin to get heavy and she starts to nod off. She closes her eyes, allowing sleep to take her.

"Ahh, ahhh," No Face is leaning down in front of Chihiro.

She snaps up, looking around the car and notices the train has stopped. She looks over at Dan who gives her a smirk, "Was I-?"

He nods.

Her face gets hot and she knows that her cheeks are turning red. She was sleeping on Dan's shoulder, "I'm sorry," She says, quickly getting to her feet.

They get off the train at the small dirt road leading to Granny's cottage. The lamp comes, squeaking its way to light the path for them. Dan studies it carefully. He gives them a bewildered look as if saying, "How is it doing that?" Chihiro's palms are clammy so she swings them at her sides to dry them, since her clothes are still damp. They turn at the bend of the road and see the cottage still nestled back in the forest.

Its right before they get to the door that Zeniba opens it with a broad smile, "Chihiro! How nice to see you! And all grown up I see. What a beautiful girl you are."

She holds out her arms for Chihiro and she hugs her tight, "I've missed you, Granny!"

"Oh, I've missed you too!" She looks over at Dan, "And who is this?"

"I'm Chihiro's friend, Dan," He says, bowing to her.

She studies him for a moment, "Nice to meet you, Dan," She invited them inside, blowing them dry as they go, "Thank you for retrieving them for me, No Face."

"Ahh, ahh," He smiles.

"Come now, sit down. I will pour us some tea," She goes over to the pot over the fire, "How did you pass through the gates?"

Chihiro thinks back, "I'm not sure, I was about to leave when I looked back and the bathhouse was there."

Zeniba nods, "And you?" She looks at Dan.

Dan looks down at the tea that has been set in front of him, "I followed her and came through the tunnel when buildings appeared," He explains.

Zeniba nods, taking in his words.

It gets awkwardly silent as Granny and No Face look at Dan.

"Ahh, ahhh," No Face says to Zeniba.

Zeniba nods, avoiding their eyes, "You've come to find Haku?"

"Yes!" Chihiro jumps from her seat, "Have you seen him?!"

Zaniba takes a sip of her tea and gives her an apologetic look, "Sadly, I haven't. Yubaba doesn't know where he is?"

"No," Chihiro sits, "He's been missing for days," She lays her head down on the table in defeat.

Zeniba rests a hand on Chihiro's back, "It sounds like you were meant to be here."

"Ahh, ahhh, ahh," No Face agrees.

"I can see what all I can do," The old woman smiles, "But I'm not sure if it will do much, if anything at all."

She disappears from the room. Everyone sits at the table watching objects, she's casted spells on, do their work. Zeniba returns with a scroll and a crystal. With one swipe of her hand the table clears other than their tea. She lays the parchment out to display a large map. She leans over the map and holds the crystal up by a string between her fingers.

The crystal starts to swing and move over the map Dan leans in; his eyes are wide, "What is that going to do?"

Zeniba doesn't say anything.

The crystal continues to spin until finally it plops down over the map. She leans down to read the area it fell on. Her eyes widen and she looks up at Chihiro with a grave look on her face, "He's in Fall Forest."

Chihiro's nods, "Where's Fall Forest?!"

Zeniba has a worried look on her face, "Why would Haku be all the way over there? It doesn't make sense that he would be over there…"

"Why? What's over there?! Chihiro presses.

The old woman frowns, "Fall Forest is where all of the evil wizards and spirits live."

Chihiro gets a numbing feeling in her skull that moves down into her chest, "Why would Haku be there?"

"I'm not sure," Granny hovers her hand over the map, "It's being protected by a spell."

"Is he okay?!" Chihiro leans against the table.

Zeniba slowly sets her hand down, "I'm sure he's fine, child."

"I have to go get him!" Chihiro says, looking down at the map, "I can't leave him there, what if he's hurt?"

"It's too dangerous for you to go," Dan objects, "What if you get hurt? I'm sure he will come back soon enough."

Chihiro shakes her head, "But I'm human, they would stay away from me right? Right Granny?!"

Zeniba sits across from her, "I'm not so sure anymore, I think you have some sort of connection to the Spirit World. I have never heard of a human passing through the gates before, especially twice!"

"Connection? How would I have a connection?" Chihiro asks.

Zeniba almost looks like she doesn't want to say anything, or at least shouldn't say anything, "Maybe through Haku?"

"Who is Haku?!" Dan finally asks with frustration in his voice.

"Ahh, ahhh," No Face says.

Chihiro is surprised by Dan's reaction, but she's not sure how to answer his question. Who was Haku? Surely he meant, who was Haku _to_ Chihiro?

"He's a powerful river spirit," Zeniba answers for Chihiro, "Last time Chihiro was here, they found that they were in love."

"But they haven't seen each other in nine years!" Dan huffs.

Dan's words sting, "But I waited for him…" Chihiro sulks back into her chair.

"He's a spirit and you're human," Dan then says, "How would that work?"

Zeniba glares over at him.

Chihiro has never heard these words before. She's never even thought of them herself and it, regretfully, made sense. How would a spirit and a human work? "Uhhh…" She moans with a terribly feeling growing in her stomach.

"No Face, would you go with Chihiro to Fall Forest?" Zeniba asks, walking over to a desk on the other side of the room.

"Ahh, ahhh."

Chihiro sinks into her chair, "What if I find Haku and I won't be able to help him?"

"Maybe we should send someone else to get him? Chihiro might get hurt," Dan says.

"I can get him," Chihiro says, "I might not be much help, but I want to go find him!"

Dan impatiently taps his fingertips on the table, "I'll go too."

"You don't have to go-" Chihiro starts.

"I want to go. I don't want to leave you to go by yourself anyways," He says, glancing at No Face.

"Ahh!" No Face snaps.

Chihiro gives him a curious look, "No Face is going with me, he will be a lot of help!"

"I didn't say he wasn't," Dan says defensively.

"Ah! Here they are!" Zeniba pulls tickets out of the drawer, "I need to clean that out," She brings them over and gives them to Chihiro, "Here you are. This should get you to Fall Forest."

A tap on the door makes Chihiro jumps to her feet, "Who's that?!"

Zeniba sighs, opening the door with a motion of her hand, "Yubaba's pet."

The bird with Yubaba's head flies through the door and lands on the chair Dan is sitting in. It holds a scroll in its talons.

Dan jumps from his seat, landing on the floor, "What is that thing!?"

"It's my sisters pet," Zeniba hisses the word, "What are you doing here?"

It glares at her, holding up the scroll in its feet.

"What is it?" Chihiro asks.

Zeniba plucks the paper from the bird and unfolds it to a letter. Her eyes move over the paper, reading it.

"What is it? Has Haku returned to the bathhouse?" Chihiro tries to keep herself from reading over Granny's shoulder.

The old woman sighs, "Well, at least she is offering some help. She's sent Yubird to assist in finding Haku."

It screeches.

"Thank you, Yubird," Chihiro delicately smiles.

Dan has now crawled on the other side of the table and has gotten up, "Wait, you mean that thing is going with us?!"

**(Thanks for the reviews and follows, it means a lot! :) I have class four days a week, so my updates might not be every night, but I'm going to try! I hope the story is keeping you on your toes so far and you enjoy! Please review and thanks for reading! :D)**


	5. Chapter 5: Fall Forest

**(I do apologize for how it's taken me to update, I've been very busy as I have started a new class and this chapter took me a bit longer to write. I will continue to try and update every night if I can. I hope you enjoy the chapter!)**

Chapter 5: Fall Forest

Chihiro almost doesn't want to leave Granny's comforting home, but she needed to find Haku. Dan sits closely beside her making sure to be on the other side of No Face and Yubird, who perches on No Face's shoulder.

"How are we going to find him after we get there?" Dan asks.

Chihiro unfolds her hands. The crystal Zeniba had used over the map sits in the palm of her hand, "Granny said this will help along the way," Chihiro holds the string and the crystal rises, pointing in the direction the train is heading.

Dan eyes it, "Don't lose it."

"She can't. I've put a spell on it to stick with her like a magnet!" Zeniba's voice says from the crystal.

"That's clever," He mumbles.

It's much longer to get to Fall Forest. The sun begins to rise in front of them. Chihiro smiles, somehow the sunrise is much more beautiful here than in the human world. She remembers Leah then and feels bad, but she knows that Leah would understand. She is the kind of person who would just want someone to be happy.

"I don't feel good about this, maybe we should just turn around and go back to Granny's house?" Dan suggests.

"I have to find Haku. What if something is wrong?" She says in concern.

Dan grips onto the seat, "But he's a powerful river spirit, I'm sure he's fine, you just haven't given him enough time?"

"He's been missing for days! Something is wrong… I can feel it…" Chihiro pulls the crystal back down to her hand.

"We will find Haku," Zeniba says.

Chihiro can't help but think of the worst scenario. Maybe he has turned bad in the nine years she's been gone? But she can't imagine that Haku would turn bad. He has to be in some kind of trouble… That's the only thing that makes sense. Haku must have just gotten mixed up with something, maybe that's all, hopefully that's all…

After almost three hours, the train comes to a stop. The driver rushes them out and as soon as they are all off, the train speeds away. This makes Chihiro gulp and slowly turn to see the dark forest towering behind her.

"That's a big forest…" She mutters.

"See, this is dangerous, we should just go!" Dan pulls Chihiro's arm.

She gives him a look, "I'm not making you go, you can leave!"

He glares forward.

She allows the crystal to rise and it begins to pull towards the forest. She hesitantly steps forward making sure No Face is close to her. Yubird flies on ahead. They get to the edge of the forest and climb through. Even with the sun rising, the forest is unnaturally dark.

Trudging through the thick layer of dead leaves, Dan glares at the crystal, "What if we run into something?"

Chihiro doesn't say anything; she just concentrates on the pulling of the crystal.

It's silent between them as they follow the crystal through the forest.

After an hour of walking, Chihiro finally decides to stop and rest. No Face hands out water to them. Dan can't help but stare at him, wondering where No Face always pulls things out from. Yubird has returned to rest with them.

"How long is it going to take to find Haku?" Dan asks, hesitating to drink the water.

Chihiro stares down to the ground, "I hope not long…"

"Ahh, ahh."

"We shouldn't rest for very long," Chihiro sips the water.

Dan steams with annoyance, "Why can't Zeniba look for him? We're not powerful or anything!"

"Ahh!" No Face scowls.

Chihiro rolls her eyes and stands, "Let's go, the crystal is still pulling."

They all begin to walk through the forest again. Yubird flies ahead of them to make sure everything is clear. Dan whispers something under his breath. The group treks through the forest, still following the crystal that pulls towards Haku. Chihiro finds herself skipping steps, excited to finally see the person she's been waiting nine years to see.

"Ahh, ahh," No face says.

Chihiro looks over at him, "What? What is it?"

He points ahead of them, "Ahh, ahh, uh ah."

She peers through the trees and notices that he's stopped, "What? Is something coming?"

He nods, "Ahh, ahh."

She stops and listens. The ground vibrates under their feet and trees fall, limbs snap. She takes a big breath, "What is that?!"

"Ahh! Ahh!" No Face says loudly.

Yubird screeches at them.

It finally comes into sight. A large creature runs towards them. It runs on two legs, but often uses its arms to propel itself forward. Saliva drips from its long fangs and it's skin looks cracked as if in decay.

Chihiro freezes in place, unable to move when No Face puts his mouth around her and swallows, "Dan?!" No Face says in Chihiro's voice.

Dan screams.

No Face hastily runs away from the creature as fast as he can. Chihiro holds her hands over her mouth, keeping her eyes closed. The goo around her sends shivers through her spin. She can now see how he was able to eat so much, along with three people.

She is surprised by No Face's speed, or at least it feels like he is going fast. She sees through his shadowy body that they have lost the huge creature, but No Face continues on, just to make sure they would be safe.

When he feels comfortable with the distance, he finds a pile of leaves to spit Chihiro out on.

"Could you warn me next time, please?" Chihiro lays in the leaves.

"Ahh, ahh," He plops down beside her.

"Where's Dan?" Chihiro sits up, looking around.

No Face frowns and Yubird perches back on his shoulder.

"Did that thing get him!?" Chihiro jumps to her feet, sick with guilt, "I can't let him get eaten! He needs to go back to the human world!"

Zeniba materializes from the crystal and examines the situation, "Something isn't right here," She mumbles, almost to herself.

"What do you mean?" Chihiro gets worried.

Zeniba doesn't say anything; she just continues to study the atmosphere.

"Granny?"

"Hold on," She says, lifting her hands up to her sides.

The group is lifted off the ground and for a moment, Chihiro panics. She swings her legs in the air until she is suspended, "Granny?!"

"There!" Zeniba points to a large creature running through the forest ahead of them, "It's taken Dan!"

They lower back down and Zeniba is sucked back into the crystal, "I have no more energy to appear, you will have to continue to follow the crystal! Hopefully you will get to him soon enough."

Yubird screeches and grips onto Chihiro and No Face. Slowly they are lifted off the ground, "We won't get there fast enough!"

Suddenly, No Face swallows both of them and grows large wings. Chihiro and Yubird look at each other, annoyed. It was a good idea, but at his friends expense. Quickly, he flies over the forest, closing in on the creature. Chihiro peers down through the canopy to the running creature. Dan sits on its back, almost like he was riding on its back.

Chihiro's eyes widen, "I can't believe it!"

They get ahead of them and continue to follow the crystal. The sun is high above them now, making the forest floor easy to see. No Face presses on, flapping his huge wings through the air. Chihiro tries not to look down. The ground is so far down, it almost begins to blur. She just holds the crystal up.

A dark structure comes into sight at the foot of a mountain. The crystal pulls down towards it, "Stop! It's down there, No Face!"

He screeches and starts to fly down when crashing of trees comes from behind them.

Chihiro turns to see the creature charging towards them, "Hurry!"

Almost falling out of the sky, No Face increases his speed towards the ground. But, before he can spit them out, the creature is there, still charging for them. He moves back up into the air as fast as he can, barely being missed by the creatures long fangs that snap up at them and the creature hits into the large castle-like door. It is thrown back into the trees and it lays there for a minute.

They land on the ground and No Face spits them out, "Ahh, ahh!"

Chihiro collects herself and turns to the door made into the mountain, "How are we supposed to get past that?!"

"Use the crystal!" Zeniba's voice calls.

Chihiro holds the crystal to the large stone structure and the door opens, darkness is flooded with sunlight. It even looks like it scurries away from the rays. The creature shakes his head and aims for them again. Chihiro rushes into the castle with Yubird carrying No Face. The creature rams through the stone and it crumbles around them. It claws for them and Chihiro trips, falling to the ground.

A claw reaches for her, but she stumbles backwards, "Ahhh!"

Yubird screeches, pecking at the creature.

Chihiro is given enough time to get to her feet and scramble forward.

They run down through the long hallway passing bridge-type structures and doors. The castle is dark and vacant, every sound echoes through the stone. The creature fights on through the door, crashing after them. The group attempts to increase their speed, but each of them feel as if they are getting slower.

"This way!" Chihiro turns into a random hallway, she knows if they don't turn soon, the creature will get to them.

They all run down through the hallway, torches light as they go. The creature roars behind them, only able to reach two long nails down through the hallways, missing all of them. Chihiro panics, running as fast as she can. Her lungs don't seem to get enough air and her heart beats so fast it feels as if it might come out of her chest.

When the castle seems to settle, Chihiro slows to a stop. She bends down, trying desperately to catch her breath, "That was close!"

"Ahh, ahh!" No Face nods.

Yubird screeches.

"Do you know where we are, Granny?" She asks, breathless.

The crystal rises in front of her, "It seems you might be in the same place that Haku is in!"

"Where is he!?" Chihiro stands up straight.

There's a long pause, "I'm not sure, I can't see through the darkness. There's a powerful spell being casted on that castle."

Chihiro feels a breeze of relief, regardless. She's now in the same place that Haku is in and she's that much closer to finding him. A castle could only be so big? Surely it wouldn't take that that long to find him? She smiles at the thought of seeing his face again, would it look the same? Or has he aged as she has? She shakes her head of these thoughts, now's not the time to be distracted by them.

"Do you know whose castle this is?" Chihiro asks.

"It's too foggy to see anything now," Zeniba says, "Whoever lives there really doesn't want anyone to see anything."

A loud roar sounds through the castle.

They all look down the corridor. Suddenly it's cover is darkness. They begin to run again, faster now. Yubird has to carry No Face, he isn't fast enough by himself. Chihiro can't help but hesitate through the hall, the torches don't light fast enough for her to be comfortable running through the darkness.

"Ahh! Ahh!" No Face says loudly.

Chihiro turns.

No Face points down a set of stairs. They quickly follow it down, spiraling down through the large hollow cylinder. The stairs seem endless as they climb down through, torches still lighting the path. They come into an opening, only stairs remain on the side of the wall. This is all too familiar to when Chihiro had to climb down to the boiler room. She slinks to the wall, uncomfortable without a railing.

When it seems they can't climb any further and the stairs won't end, they make it to the bottom of the stairs and off of the last step. Chihiro peers through the darkness, "It almost looks like a dungeon."

"Ahh, ahhh," No Face nods in agreement.

Yubird screeches.

They walk through the corridor, looking into the empty cells hoping to find Haku sitting in one of them. The roaring of the creature makes Chihiro jump, "We have to find a way out of here before it finds us!"

They are pacing now when they come up to another large cell. But this cell seems special as it glows with blue electricity, intertwining around the metal bars. As Chihiro approaches it, a figure comes into sight. She can't see it very clearly, the closer she gets, the more she can make out. It shimmers silver, with sea-green hair. Chihiro's eyes narrow then widen.

"Haku!" She races forward, only to be thrown back by the shock of the electricity looming around the metal bars.

The dragon looks at her and doesn't waste time turning back into his human form, it's Haku.

**(Please review and tell me what you think! :)**


	6. Chapter 6: The Struggle

Chapter 6: The Struggle

"Haku!" Chihiro runs as close as she can get to the bars. She sees that he has aged. His jawbone is more prominent and his face is full. His eyes draw her in, even more than she can remember. Now to get past these bars and be welcomed into his arms like she's been waiting for, "You're okay!"

"What are you doing here?" He asks, concern fills his eyes.

She looks at him, confused, "I entered back into the Spirit World and I came to find you!"

"No Face, take her out of here! Now!" He demands.

"Ahh, ahh?"

Chihiro shakes her head, "Why?!"

Haku gets close to the bars, "The spirit who put me here is evil," He hesitates to say anymore, "I don't want you here when he comes back!"

"I'm not leaving without you! It's already been nine years!" She can feel the tears filling her eyes.

He steps away and looks up through the darkness at his cell as if looking for a way to escape, "Chihiro, please!" He pleads.

"There has to be some way to get you out of here," Chihiro also steps back and examines the cell.

"I've been trying to escape for days, it has a very powerful spell that I won't be able to break myself," Haku almost sounds defeated.

The crystal lifts away from her and starts to shine a lime color. Zeniba appears again, forming in front of them, "I knew I sensed something about Dan!"

"Dan?" Chihiro is surprised, "He was taken by that creature?"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zeniba says, "I knew something was wrong as soon as you both walked into the bathhouse, I sent No Face to get you and through him was when I really picked up something amiss."

"Ahh! Ahh!"

A laugh echoes from behind them and Dan appears from the darkness, "It was much easier than I thought."

"Dan?!" Chihiro can't believe what she's been hearing.

"Stay away from her!" Haku growls.

Dan laughs again, his appearance changing. His eyes darken to black and his hair grows down to his shoulders. His body lengthens and his teeth sharpen. He resembles a lot of the creature, "I knew you would fall for Haku's eyes."

Chihiro glares over at him, "I don't feel bad about that," She snaps, "That's all I fell for."

"Lord Yamashita," Zeniba hisses, "What is it you want?"

He gives them a low throaty laugh, "Chihiro, of course."

"What? Why?"

"Because I couldn't get to you the first time you passed through the gates!" He explains in a raised voice, "And when I saw Haku preparing to go to you in the human world I tricked him and locked him up here after he so kindly opened the gates and I mimicked his eyes," He sneers, "It was a nice touch, if I say so myself."

Chihiro gulps, guilt makes her face tingle, "What do you want with me?"

"You are the only human that can open the gates, whether you know it or not," He says, "Haku is your connection in this world, but now that you hold that power you can access the gates whenever you want."

Chihiro shakes her head, "That's not true, I've tried to pass through many times!" She thinks back to the times she's entered into the Spirit World.

"And now you can open them for me," He coldly grins, "Whenever I want you to."

Zeniba laughs exactly how Yubaba laughed at Chihiro so long ago, "You will need more than just Chihiro to do that!"

"I have everything I need," Yamashita steps closer, "Chihiro just happened to be the last piece to the puzzle."

"I'm taking Chihiro with me!" Haku snorts.

He snaps his fingers and the large creature steps out of the darkness behind him, "You may outnumber us, but I believe we may have a little more power."

"I don't care what you believe you have!" Haku snaps.

"Let Haku and my friends go and I will stay with you," Chihiro says, trying not to let her voice crack.

"No Chihiro!" Haku yells.

She gives Haku an apologetic look, "Just let them go safely."

That's all she was concerned for. She needed to know that her friends would be safe, especially at the hands of Lord Yamashita. It was hard to believe that Dan turned out to be a traitor, but she won't have to worry about him anymore. Eventually she will forget their talk on the back porch of Jamie's house and that his eyes drew her in the moment she looked into them, or Haku's eyes did.

Lord Yamashita studies her a moment, "And why should I do that? I could keep you all here quite easily if I wanted."

"You could try," Zeniba grumbles.

"Because if you keep them I will fight and make it hard for you every step of the way, but if you let them go, I will do what you want without any fuss."

"No! I'm not letting you go again!" Haku is shocked back from the bars.

Zeniba steps to her, "Think about this Chihiro."

"Ahhh, ahh!"

"I have thought about it and those are my terms!"

Lord Yamashita thinks a moment. His lips press into a broad grin, "Fair enough," He raises his fingers.

"No!" Haku yells.

Snap.

Haku and her friends disappear, "They are safely outside of Fall Forest now," Yamashita gives her an evil smile.

In some way, Chihiro was relieved that her friends and Haku are safe, but she realizes she has now been left alone with him. He snaps his fingers again and she appears in a large, warmly lit room. Gold and purple curtains hang from the ceiling and the walls are designed with gold diamonds and purple stones, making it look like a large quilt. The carpet is a deep purple with a hint of gold veins spreading through the floor. The bed is large and hidden by drapes that are similar to the curtains. The atmosphere is warm and calming.

She looks down and her clothes have been changed to a flowing white dress.

"I hope you like it, I've been preparing it for you for quite some time now," Lord Yamashita materializes from a shadow across the room.

"Uh…" Chihiro looks around, "You do know that I'm a human right?"

He attempts at a charming smile, but to Chihiro it's only awkward and creepy, "Remember when you ate the first food here?"

"Yes?"

"That bound your soul to the Spirit World," Yamashita says excitedly, "As long as you're in the Spirit World, you cannot die!"

Chihiro shakes her head, "How?!"

"When the Kohaku River saved you as a young girl, he gave some of his immortality to you, that was the only way you could have truly survived," He explains, running a finger along the wall, walking towards her.

Chihiro tries to make sense of what he is saying, "Then why didn't the gates open when I tried all of those times?"

"It is much like an instrument, you need practice to get good, but don't worry yourself, we will have plenty of time for practice," He steps closer.

She moves away, walking to the other side of the room, "Why do you need to go to the human world?"

"We do not need to discuss my business affairs," He appears beside her, "Will the room do?"

Chihiro gets a sick feeling, "It's an interesting combination of colors…"

"I'm so glad you noticed."

"It was very hard," Chihiro says sarcastically.

"The gold represents how valuable you are to me," He tries to say smoothly.

Chihiro touches a purple stone, "And what of the purple?"

"Purple is your favorite color, is it not?"

She is surprised to hear this and hesitantly nods, "I like it?"

"A gift from your friends was purple?" He holds out his hand where the hair tie No Face, Boh and Yubird had made for her emerges on his palm.

Her eyes widen, "Where did you get that!?" She snatches it out of his hands and secures it around her wrist.

"I took it after you left to the old amusement park," He utters, "Luckily by that time, Leah was wound up in her relationship to notices the dark shadow looming around your side of the room."

Chihiro flinches when she hears her name, "You didn't do anything to her, did you?!"

Lord Yamashita laughs, "I didn't have any business with her, only with you."

"Will I be able to go to the human world again?" She asks.

"No," He doesn't hesitate, "You're only immortal in the Spirit World, once you step into the human world, if you're old in age, you will die."

Chihiro doesn't realize how badly it hurt to hear. She never expected to return to the Spirit World, but now that she has, she's completely stuck here? No visits to her parents? Or Leah? She wasn't completely prepared for that, not as much as she should have been when she went out looking for the gate. But now that she's here, she's stuck in a castle with an evil spirit, away from Haku.

"You won't be able to keep me forever, you know," Chihiro threatens him, hoping that he didn't actually plan to, "Even if they don't come to get me, I will find a way out of here."

He roars with laughter, "You will be breaking your own terms, in that case."

Her face gets hot.

"The terms were to let your friends go safely and you would not fight," He repeats what they had agreed on.

"I would categorize escaping separate from fighting. I would be escaping for survival," She stiffens her stance.

"You would not fight for survival?" He asks but before Chihiro can say anything he speaks again, "Survival shouldn't weigh on your mind, I have everything here for you. Food, shelter, protection. No one dares try to enter my castle in the mountain."

Chihiro fakes a smile, "I think I know a few people who might."

"Haku! We need to prepare before trying to break into Lord Yamashita's castle!" Zeniba argues, "I need to rest, I'm weak and I know that you are too."

Haku's eyes glow a bright green, "I am not leaving Chihiro here with him! I need to get her!"

"If we charge in there now, we might risk the safety of all of us and Chihiro will have no one to save her," She says more calmly.

"Ahh, ahh."

Zeniba softens her face, "Haku, you know how powerful Lord Yamashita is, he can transport beings with the snap of his fingers. That takes a lot of magic to do something like that."

"I am powerful enough to beat him!" Haku objects.

"You may be, but not in a state like this," Zeniba rests a large hand on his shoulder, "You will need all of the energy you can get."

Haku reluctantly listens to Zeniba and he flies the group back. When the flight would usually take him two hours, it's taken him three hours, the same time as the train. Once in a while he will get a burst of energy thinking of Chihiro being locked in Lord Yamashita's castle. Now that she is here, he can't have her.

It had taken him longer than he expected to see her again and he was excited to finally see her again. He was going to approach her at the library, but Yamashita intercepted him, stealing the color of his eyes and his thoughts. For a while, laying in the dungeon, he had forgotten Chihiro and didn't know why he was in the cell, but memory by memory, it came back to him, along with hatred and anger towards Lord Yamashita.

When the cottage comes into view, he slows for the landing. Zeniba comes out to greet them and helps Haku inside, "It's good to see you."

"I don't plan to rest long, just enough to get back to the castle as quickly as possible," Haku says as she sets him on a comfortable couch.

"Ahh, ahh," No Face shakes his head.

Zeniba nods, "No Face is right, you will need a better plan than that to get Chihiro out safely."

"I will go to his castle and confront him!" Haku says, frustrated.

No Face hands him a cup of tea.

"What about his pet?"

"I will kill it," Haku sets the tea down on an end table, "He is a threat anyways. I don't trust to keep it alive."

Zeniba sips her tea, "And what if you can't kill it?"

Haku's face turns red, "I won't fail."

"But what if you do?"

"Ahhhh, ahh," No Face sits beside Haku.

Zeniba nods, "You could have a distraction for the creature. I could cast a powerful binding spell on it and it will be stuck in one place for hours."

Yubird screeches loudly.

"Oh, what is it?!" Zeniba snaps.

Yubird turns and flies out of the window.

Haku sighs, knowing that it is important to have a plan. He let his emotions control him and, possibly, at the expense of Chihiro, "We need to get her soon."

**(Reviews welcomed :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Castle in the Mountain

**(Now that I look back at Chapter 6, I realized that my page breakers didn't show up and I do apologize for that, I know it can be confusing jumping from one place to another. I will be sure to double check that next time. Thanks for reading! :)**

Chapter 7: Castle in the Mountain

Chihiro sits across the long table from Lord Yamashita. Food is spread across the table, "Take what you like."

She starts to reach for something and it begins to float towards her. She takes the small loaf of bread and slowly bites into it. It tastes sweet for bread, as if it were made with honey. The crystal starts to rise under the table, she thought she had lost it in the dungeon. She sets the bread back down on the table.

"I'm not hungry," She says, quickly holding the crystal in her hands.

He looks at her curiously, "But you took a bite of the bread?"

She nods, "That's how I know I'm not hungry. Can I go to the room?"

"The room?" He repeats.

She sadly sighs, "My room…"

He nods, waving her off.

She gets up with so much speed, the chair falls to the ground. She stumbles to stand it back up and she rushed down the hall. To her surprise, her room is not in a tower, although she wouldn't really know if it was, since it was built in the heart of the mountain. The torches light her way until she gets to the large golden, with purple, door. She lightly shuts the door behind her and the crystal rises with a dark green glow.

Haku materializes and before she can react, he pulls her into his arms. She holds him, feeling his body against hers. Her knees shake and her heart flutters. She is finally touching him again, after nine long years, it's finally happening.

"You're really here?" She buries her face in his chest.

He caresses her hair, "I'm really here."

"I missed you so much," She says, trying to hold the tears from falling.

"I missed you too,' His voice sooths her and he pulls her away, "He hasn't hurt you, has he?!"

She shakes her head, "I've been in this room most of the time," She says, "How are you here?!"

"I had some rest, I'm getting my energy back, but I don't have long," He doesn't let go of her hands.

She grips his fingers with hers, "Are you guys okay?!"

"Yes, everyone is fine; we are coming to get you soon!"

"No, I will be okay, I don't want you guys getting hurt for me," She objects.

He moves his hands to her elbows now, pulling her closer, "I'm not leaving you here, we will be fine, don't worry about us."

"But what if something happens? Haku, I can't lose you again!" The tears overflow onto her cheeks.

He kisses the top of her head, "You're very brave, Chihiro."

Him saying her name makes the tears flow faster. She's not sure why, but it seems so much more special when he says it, when it passes through his lips it makes her muscles relax, "Are you sure you'll be okay?!"

"I'm sure," He gives her a half smile.

His hands begin to sink into her.

He glances at the door, "Keep the crystal close!"

He begins to fade more quickly.

"No! Don't leave me!" Chihiro begs.

"I will be back to get you, I promise," He stares into her watery eyes.

She rises to kiss him, but she passes through him like mist, "Be careful!"

He disappears and the crystal dims, going clear again. She's left alone in her room.

xxxxxxxx

"Was she okay? Did you talk to her?" Zeniba asks with worry.

Haku sighs, "Yes, she's fine."

"Ahhh, ahh!"

"I can't wait much longer to get her," He leans against the window sill staring out into the forest.

Zeniba pats him on the shoulder, "I'm worried for her too, but Lord Yamashita is going to suspect us to be trying to break her out."

"Yes, but he is probably thinking that we are going to wait to catch him off guard so he will be on his best guard," Yubaba is standing in the threshold of the front door, "It's good to see you Haku, Zeniba," She hardly acknowledges her sister.

Zeniba glares over at her, "What are you doing here?!"

Yubaba hesitates to step forward, looking around the house as if she is disgusted, "Yubird told me the brat has been captured by Lord Yamashita, why doesn't that surprise me? She always seems to get herself in trouble."

"She was finding me," Haku turns to her, "And she made a deal with him not to fight with him if he let us go."

She lifts up her nails, picking at them, "I suppose I will help, after all she might be a better worker now that she is older."

"Who says she is going to work for you?" Zeniba snaps.

"Zeniba, we could use your sisters help," Haku smiles at Yubaba, "Thank you for coming, we can use all of the help we can get."

Yubaba rolls her eyes, pretending not to care, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

They wait until two hours before dawn to set out, which Haku isn't very happy about. He just wanted to get to her as soon as possible, "Let's make this quick."

They are all able to fly, besides No Face who rides on Haku's back. The distance is shorter now that they have their energy back, especially Haku, who keeps ahead of the rest of the group. He is so eager to get Chihiro back and be able to hold her in his arms for as long as he wants to. She's grown into a beautiful young woman, of course he knew she would and he's thankful that no one stole her from him.

It was hard to let her go that day, her small hand left his and something was empty from then on. He stayed at the bathhouse, but no longer worked as Yubaba's henchman. Yubaba was afraid to let such a good worker go, she hates most of the people working for her at the bathhouse, so Haku was able to stay.

And for nine years he hesitated to go to the human world, afraid of what he might find. What if Chihiro had forgotten about him? He didn't intentionally wait for nine years, he had attempted to visit her before, but things got in the way and he was forced to save it for another day, yet again.

But now that she's here, he's not going to let her go and most certainly won't let Lord Yamashita keep her for his own. Chihiro is a part of him, something he has yet to explain to her, maybe that's why they had such a strong connection? He gave part of his immortality to her as a child and it was a bond ever since.

They are nearing the Fall Forest now, with the sun just barely rising over the land. Haku is becoming more restless with every inch they travel. He is ready to rip Lord Yamashita apart and nothing would make him happier, besides getting Chihiro back, of course.

"How Sen make it out all the way over here?" Yubaba asks.

"I gave her train tickets," Zeniba bitterly answers.

Yubaba laughs, "I'm surprised she didn't die!"

Haku shoots her a look.

"What? I am, Fall Forest can get very dangerous at night," Yubaba mumbles.

"She made it here in the morning," Zeniba says.

"Ahh, ahh!" No Face points down to the creature running through the trees below them.

Zeniba descends down towards the creature, preparing her spell. She throws the spell at it.

xxxxxxxxx

There's a knock at the door and Chihiro looks up from her makeshift desk. Lord Yamashita enters, looking around her room with a suspicious look in his eyes, "Creative," He look at the desk make of pillows and a broken off headboard from the bed.

"If you're going to hold me here the least you can do is give me something to do and better clothes," She pulls the dress out with a look of distaste.

He nods, snapping his fingers. A dresser appears against one of the walls, "Pick what you'd like then."

She slowly gets to her feet and goes over to the dresser. When she pulls out the first drawer she's surprised to see her clothes neatly folded inside the wooden rectangle, "How did you get my clothes?!"

"I took many things from you," He rests his hands in front of him, "I figured you might want some of your clothes, no?"

She nods, "I do."

"I will leave you to change then," He slightly bows and swiftly leaves the room, closing the door slowly.

She digs through the clothes, finding her favorite light gray sweater. She puts on her most comfortable pants, hoping to be escaping soon. Now that she's a part of the Spirit World she will have to find some other clothes to wear, but for now she is happy with her clothes. She holds them clothes, inhaling the human world scent. She ties her hair up with the hair tie her friends had made her and she changes into her clothes.

She creeps over to her door and turns the handle, but it's been locked from the outside, "When is Haku going to get here?" She moans.

xxxxxxxxx

The group lands in front of the castle doors, "We will only have a few hours before his pet wakes up."

"It won't take that long," Haku glares at the door in front of them.

Yubaba holds her hands out in front of her, blasting the entrance open.

"I have Lord Yamashita," Haku growls.

They enter the dark castle with careful steps, when they clear the frame, the large castle door slams behind them. Lord Yamashita stands on a bridge above them. He leans down over the railing; an evil smile stains his face. Haku's hands make fists at his sides. His body and eyes begin to glow with a dark green.

"Where is Chihiro?!" He roars.

Yamashita chuckles, "I knew you were going to be coming, but I didn't expect guests so soon."

"See," Yubaba says.

Haku throws a spell at him, "Well we're here to get her back!"

"Hmm, I see," He runs his hand along the stone railing, "Here then."

He snaps his fingers and Chihiro appears below him and in front of them, but as soon as Haku steps forward, she falls through a hole below her feet, "What did you do with her?!"

Lord Yamashita shrugs, "If you can catch her, you can have her."

"Ahhh!" Haku breaks forward, leaving a green streak behind him. He catches Yamashita off guard throwing him to the ground, but the Lord throws a fireball at him, making Haku step away from him, "Let her go!"

Yamashita makes it to his feet, but is gone when Haku swings.

His laughter echoes through the stone and Haku stops to listen. He knew what game he was trying to play and Haku planned to beat him at it. Haku listens with his dragon ears and feels the rhythm of the breeze. Lord Yamashita appears and Haku strikes him with gust of powerful wind. He recovers quickly, returning with another fireball, hitting Haku back.

No Face and Yubird rush to find Chihiro, searching all over the castle, but every hallway and room turn up empty.

Haku knocks Lord Yamashita down in front of Zeniba and Yubaba. They look at each other and both throw spells, hitting him. He lands back down on the stone. He looks up and quickly holds his hands in front of him, shooting fireballs. Both Zeniba and Yubaba dodge the spells.

Haku lands behind him, "Where is Chihiro?!"

"Haku!" Chihiro's voice falls on him.

He looks up to see that Chihiro is stuck to the ceiling.

Zeniba pushes off the ground, but by the time she gets to her, Chihiro has disappeared again.

"Stop playing games!" Haku hits him with another powerful gust of wind.

Lord Yamashita snaps his fingers and Chihiro appears standing beside him. He quickly grabs her and pulls her away with him, "I've worked too hard to get her for you to just come in here and take her away!"

"She is not yours to keep," Haku growls.

"She is now!" He smiles.

Chihiro's face turns angry and she elbows him in the stomach, jumping forward into Haku's arms. Lord Yamashita's eyes turn red and he grows taller, "Oni!" His voice roars.

Zeniba's eyes widen when the ground begins to shake, "There's no way that my spell wore off this fast!"

"It's time to go!" Yubaba says, rising off of the floor.

Haku turns into a dragon and Chihiro gets on his neck, holding the horns in her hands. He doesn't wait to take off. Yubaba blows the doors open again and they barely make it through before they slam shut again. Chihiro looks back relieved to see that Zeniba had managed to get No Face and Yubird out safely. The creature runs towards them with glowing red eyes.

"Thank you, Haku!" Chihiro says loudly, hoping that he would hear.

The sun is bright, she can't believe she's already not used to it. She buries her face in his hair. It's been so long since she's felt the wind surrounding her, even a rollercoaster couldn't imitate how amazing flying is. She remembers the first time she's flown. It felt natural to her and she feels safe. She wraps her arms around his neck and holds him tightly.

A fireball passes past them.

"He's following us!" Zeniba yells.

Chihiro looks back. The creature has now grown very long wings made of bones and torn skin. It's catching up to them fast, "Haku, they are gaining on us!"

The creature's breaths can be heard by the group. The screeching roar makes Chihiro shiver. They are coming for them.


	8. Chapter 8: Confrontation

**(Sorry it took me so long to update again, I didn't realize how busy I was going to be this week, but here it is and I hope you like it! Please review and thanks to the people who have! It's been a helpful push! Thanks for reading! :)**

Chapter 8: Confrontation

"They are catching up!" Chihiro leans over to Haku's ear, "What are we going to do?!"

She looks back to the angry Lord.

"We need to stop and fight him before we lead him any further north!" Zeniba shouts to the group.

"Are we going to be able to stop him?!" Chihiro cries.

"Are you saying that we won't be able to stop him?" Yubaba snaps.

Chihiro grips onto Haku's horns, "No, but I don't want anyone to get hurt! That's all!"

"You don't worry about us," Zeniba snaps a look at Yubaba, "We will be fine, you are the one that we need to worry about."

No Face nods, "Ahh, ahhh."

"We need to stop before we go any further north!" Zeniba repeats.

"We need to get Chihiro out of here," Yubaba says.

They start flying down into a clearing; luckily they are out of range of the Fall Forest. When they land Chihiro hops off. Haku doesn't change back into his human form, but he turns to No Face, staring intently at him. After a moment, No Face nods and he starts to approach Chihiro. Haku rubs his head against hers. She wraps her arms around his head, rubbing her skin against his soft fur.

Tears form in her eyes, "It'll be okay, Haku, he has to give up soon, we just have to stick together?"

Haku nudges her back.

"No, you can't go fight him," She grips onto him stronger, "I won't let you!"

He loosens her grip and looks at her in the eyes before he pushes off the ground leaving a gust of wind behind him. He flies quickly towards the creature.

"No! Haku!" Chihiro yells.

"Ahh, ahh," No Face says.

Chihiro panics, "What is he doing!?"

"Ahhh, ahh, uh ahhh," No Face points into the forest.

"I'm not leaving, what if they need my help?!"

Yubaba and Zeniba huddle then turn to her, "No Face, take her as far north as possible!" Zeniba orders.

No Face nods, "Ahh, ahh."

"Don't screw this up, No Face!" Yubaba snaps.

Chihiro watches Haku flying towards the large beast in the sky, "Haku…"

"Ahh, ahh," No Face points towards the woods.

"Are we going to Zeniba's house?" Chihiro asks, stepping forward.

No Face nods, "Ahhh, ahhh."

He slowly follows Chihiro into the forest. He panics, knowing how angry Haku would be if he doesn't keep Chihiro safe. He looks around the forest floor. It almost seems empty, no birds chirp as if the animals were all hiding from the evil presence in the sky. After a few minutes, he finally comes across a creature that closely resembles that of a rabbit. He holds out his hand for it, coxing it with carrots and other greens. It creeps over, sniffing the food when he snatches it and putting it in his mouth. He swallows.

"Why did you eat that rabbit?!" Chihiro asks, shocked.

The noises he makes aren't audible.

He grabs her, "Oh, you're doing this to be faster?"

He nods.

"You're not going to eat me too, are you?" She gives him a disgusted look, backing away from his mouth.

He shakes his head and sets her on his back. Suddenly, he jerks forward but stops, not prepared for how fast he went. With one step after another, he picks up his pace, getting used to these new legs. If he was fast as a small frog, imagine how fast he could move as a rabbit. He then races forward, Chihiro holding on as much as possible as he zigzags through the trees.

"Slow down, No Face! I'm going to fall off!" Chihiro complains.

No Face makes another noise Chihiro can't make out, but he doesn't slow down, he's too concerned to get Chihiro to Zeniba's cottage.

"We will make it there but you have to slow down! I'm going to get sick!" She is afraid to let go to hold onto her mouth.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Lord has stopped in waiting for the group to come to him. He looks down at them, calmly. Haku isn't flying as fast as he was; he is suspecting Yamashita is up to something. He hovers in front of them, glaring into the Lords eyes. He's older now, more experienced. He doesn't expect the fight with Lord Yamashita to be easy, but he doesn't doubt that he is also capable of. Yubaba and Zeniba stop on each side of Haku, ready to fight.

"Would you all really risk your lives for a silly little human girl?" Lord Yamashita tries to keep from looking panicked and angry.

Yubaba laughs, "If I ever thought my life would be in danger, I would have never left my bathhouse."

Yamashita doesn't acknowledge Yubaba, "She is just a silly little girl."

"Chihiro is a special girl, that's why you worked so hard to get her, isn't it?" Zeniba asks, curiously, "Maybe she is someone worth saving."

Haku growls, they all know he is willing to die for her, nothing had to be said.

"Then why do you want her?" Yubaba asks, "If she is just a silly little girl how is she any value to you?"

"She is worthless; actually," He raises his hand in front of him, looking at his dagger-like nails, "But to me, is she actually something special."

Haku snarls, snapping forward, scratching the creature across its eye. It roars booming through the air like thunder and it swings its claw forward, but it misses Haku. Haku continues to strike, along with Yubird, pecking him along his sides. Yubaba and Zeniba throw spells at Lord Yamashita. The creature forms goo around its flesh, bouncing spells off of its skin. Lord Yamashita easily avoids the magic, until one hits him across the chest, almost knocking him off his seat.

Haku flies below them, attacking Oni on its underbelly. It squirms and thrashes around, trying to grab Haku. Lord Yamashita puts a protective spell around them, but it only lasts a minute before Yubaba breaks through it with one of her spells. Zeniba holds a force shield in front of them, reflecting all of the Lord's spells.

They quickly overwhelm him with their magic, pushing them lower and lower to the ground. Lord Yamashita pushes off losing Oni and begins to throw fireballs at the group. Haku keeps at the creature until it falls to the ground. Haku strikes it again on the head, making sure that it was unconscious.

Lord Yamashita now faces Yubaba and Zeniba, "You don't want to fight me," Yamashita threatens with a stern hiss, "I will always rise from the ashes more powerful than ever."

"Well, let's find out," Yubaba hits him again, throwing him down a few yards.

He regains his strength and starts climbing up to their level when Haku hits him with his tail, sending down into the trees besides his pet, Oni. He conjures the largest fireball he can muster and throws it towards Haku. Haku's eyes widen and he moves to avoid it, but it hits him before he can react. He falls, limply towards the ground but Zeniba catches him before he hits. Yubaba throws a binding spell at Yamashita.

"I've bound him! We should leave before he can move again!" Yubaba yells down to Zeniba.

"I'm going to need help with Haku!"

Yubaba sighs, "Alright, alright."

She carries the end of Haku and they hastily carry him off.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"When are they going to get here?" Chihiro paces in front of the window, watching out for them.

"Ahhh, ahh," No face hasn't moved from standing guard at the door.

Chihiro crosses her fingers and leans against the window frame, "You think they're okay?"

"Ahh," No face nods.

"What if something happened to them?" She moans, resting her head on the window sill, "We should go back to look?!"

No Face shakes his head.

She sighs and closes her eyes.

Without realizing it, Chihiro has fallen asleep. She dreams of being with Haku, swimming in his river. They joke, playing and splashing each other with water. They both fall backwards, floating at the surface. Haku turns to her, caressing his face in his hand and he pulls her in, but right before they can kiss-

"Ahh! Ahh!" No Face wakes her.

She looks up to the sky where Haku is still being carried by Zeniba and Yubaba, "Haku?!"

She runs out of the front door. They rest him on the ground, "He get hit by a fireball."

"Haku!" She kneels down beside him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Haku? Are you okay?!"

Blood streams down from his mouth.

"Is he going to be okay?" Tears start falling from her eyes.

"I have a healing potion, but I'm going to need strong herbs to make it," Zeniba says, walking towards her house.

Yubaba snorts, "I'm done here!"

"Wait! You have to help Haku!" Chihiro pleads.

"I don't have to help anyone! I didn't even have to help you," She sticks her nose in the air, "You owe me now!"

Haku opens his eyes and he slowly turns back into his human form, "Chihiro."

"Haku?! Are you okay?" She holds him close to her.

He sits up and forces a smile, "Yes, he just knocked the wind out of me, that's all," He wipes the blood from his mouth.

"You're bleeding," She wipes the tears from her eyes.

"I'll be okay," He reassures her.

Zeniba comes back out, "We should get you inside, Haku."

He struggles to stand up and they help him inside.

They lay him down in a bed and set tea on the table for him. He sleeps for a while and Chihiro holds his hand. She doesn't want to leave his side, not again, "I knew I shouldn't have let you guys fight."

Haku opens his eyes and playfully chuckles, "Do you think you could have taken him?"

"Here we are!" Zeniba brings in a small tea cup.

Chihiro takes it, looking down into the liquid. It looks just like water but it smells like honey and milk, "This is the medicine? I thought you didn't have the herbs?"

Zeniba chuckles, "Yubaba sent Yubird with them."

"I knew she cared," Chihiro slightly smiles.

Haku drinks the liquid and his eyes widen, "Why so powerful?!" He makes a sour face.

"Because it takes a lot to fix a powerful being," Zeniba sits down on the bed beside him, "Luckily you weren't hurt too badly."

After Haku is better enough to fly, he takes Chihiro back to the bathhouse. No Face and Zeniba wave them off, Zeniba making sure that Chihiro still had the crystal adding to the collection of special items. Haku takes Chihiro right up to Yubaba's office before they run into Rin and the others. He didn't want to waste time securing Chihiro in the Spirit World. Yubaba offers a deal with Chihiro that she will work for her, but it could be collecting herbs for Kamaji's boiler room.

"Deal," Chihiro smiles, looking forward to this job, she feels she might enjoy herb collecting much more than cleaning dirty baths and serving spirits.

"But! She will work for me for two hundred years!" Yubaba looks over her desk at the pair, "That should pay off the wasted use of my precious powers."

"Two hundred years?!" Haku exclaims, "She is not going to work for you for two hundred years!" He snaps.

"Then the deal is off," Yubaba sneers, "I will only agree if it is for two hundred years! She isn't fully human, she can handle it."

Haku shoots a look at Yubaba, "But she isn't a spirit!"

"I will do it," Chihiro agrees, "I won't have anywhere else to go."

Haku turns to her, "You could go to Zeniba?"

"But when would I see you?" She asks, "I can work here. I have you and Rin, I will be okay."

His eyes look to the floor.

"It's a deal!" Yubaba says before anyone else could talk, "Here, sign this contract."

A paper and pen floats over to her. Chihiro takes it and leans against the wall, "You're not going to change my name, are you?"

Yubaba looks over at her, "That is the contract."

"You can't take her name, too!" Haku's eyes begin to glow.

"It's okay," Chihiro signs her name. She holds the paper out and it floats back to Yubaba's hands where she changes her name back to Sen, "I will just have Haku put my name on my wrist, so I will always remember it."

Yubaba glares over at her, "What? You can't do that!"

"That isn't in the contract," Haku takes her wrist and waves his hand over it. Her name appears like a bracelet around her wrist, "There."

Chihiro smiles, "When do I start?"


	9. Chapter 9: The Bathhouse

**(Since it's taken me so long to get chapter 8 out, I thought I would make it up by getting right to chapter 9. Thanks for the reviews again! It really keeps me motivated to keep on writing! Thanks for reading! :)**

Chapter 9: The Bathhouse

Chihiro carries the basket of herbs on her arm, picking through the small field. She tries to ignore the fact the pig pen her parents were held in is right across the field to her. It's always uncomfortable to be reminded of the struggle it was to get her parents back to the human world. Her mind always wonders to how they are doing and Leah? She looks off the cliff into the water, feeling the warm rays of the sun beating down on her. She sits to enjoy it, only for a moment.

"I see that you're getting along well," Haku comes from the maze of flowers.

She smiles, "I do like this much better but this uniform is a bit big for me, it's hard to move sometimes."

Haku sits beside her, "Yes, I'm having Rin look into that. She's still upset that you won't be her partner anymore."

"Yeah, I know," She shrugs, "I'm thinking of talking to Yubaba, I'm almost finished with gathering all of the herbs and he won't need any more for weeks."

Haku nods, "That's actually what I'm here for. Yubaba has assigned you to work in the bathhouse, but you will have to still get herbs when they are needed."

"I can do that," Chihiro smiles.

Haku gazes over at her.

"Are you okay?" She asks, looking at him confused.

He nods, "Yes," He blinks.

"What was it?"

"I just love your smile," He rolls his eyes when he realizes how cliché is sounds.

Chihiro giggles.

He sets his hand on hers, "I missed you after you left…"

"I did too," She remembers the lonely feeling all over again, "It was really hard after my parents got in a divorce…"

Haku is surprised, "I'm so sorry…"

She shrugs, "There's nothing I could have done…" She looks at him, "So, is there something that you wanted to talk to me about?"

He thinks a moment, there was actually too much to recall, "Was there something that you know of?"

She shrugs, "Lord Yamashita told me something..."

"What?!"

"You gave me some of your immortality…?" She says quietly.

Haku's face gets hot, that was something he wanted to tell her, "Yes, when you fell into my river, that was the only way I could actually save you, you were under the water too long."

"So what happens to you? Will you die?" She's almost afraid to ask.

Haku chuckles, "No, now that you're in the Spirit World neither of us will die."

"I'm a spirit?" She asks, confused.

"Not necessarily," He starts to explain, "You're still a human, but you have a strong connection to the Spirit World by having immortality from the Spirit World. You would still die in the human world, but here you're immortal."

"And since I'm here, you-"

"Also part of me is here," He smiles.

Chihiro grins.

He leans in to kiss her when he hears Rin calling for her, "Rin is looking for you."

Chihiro stands, looking over the knoll to the path leading up to the herb garden, "Up here, Rin!"

"Hey! Come down here, I really need your help!" She waves.

Chihiro sighs, "Rin really needs my help."

Haku nods, "If you ever need me you know what to do."

Chihiro smiles with a nod.

Haku had told her that if she ever needed him that all she needed to do was call his name, even as much as a whisper and he would hear her. Of course, that puts Chihiro at ease; she just wishes she could do the same for him. They've been through so much together since she's come back; she knows this is where she belongs now.

"There you are!" Rin rolls her eyes.

"Do you mind if I stop by the boiler room to drop off the herbs?" She holds the basket full to show her.

Rin grumbles, "Yeah, just hurry! Yubaba gave us the big bath again."

Chihiro frowns, "And you had to ask for my help!?"

"Hey! I don't trust anyone but you, so it's a compliment," Rin starts back towards the bathhouse.

Chihiro follows her. When she gets off the slope of the hill, she sprints towards the boiler room. She passes spirits on the bridge heading into the bathhouse. The frogs are again greedily greeting the customers. She relaxes knowing the stairs to the boiler room have been fixed and Yubaba has generously added a railing. Chihiro never wanted to admit that since that day nine years ago, she's been terrified to walk on stairs with no railings.

"Kamaji, I have the herbs," Chihiro calls, closing the heavy door as quickly as she could.

"Get back to work!" Kamaji yells, annoyed at the small soot balls, "Oh, Sen, there you are, I will put them away when I finish this order."

Chihiro sets it down besides his work station, "I have to go help Rin now. We'll probably be putting an order in for the best herbal recipe. We have the big bath!" She explains, crawling through the opening.

"Thanks for the heads up and good luck!" He calls.

She rushes to the elevator and pulls the handle to go up. As much as she would like to take her time to go clean the big bath, she knew that Rin would be in trouble if it wasn't done in a timely manner. She enters onto the floor where workers pace around with food and cleaning supplies. She wonders why today is so busy.

"Sen!" Rin calls, a hand reaches over the crowd.

Chihiro struggles through the crowd, "I'm here!"

Rin has a cloth over her mouth and cleaning supplies in her hands, "I think it you that gives me the bad luck."

"Wha-? Why?" Chihiro takes a scrubber and a pail.

Rin scowls, "I only have to clean this bath when you're here."

Chihiro bites her lip, trying to keep from laughing, but when Rin slips on the stairs and lands on her butt, Chihiro bursts out laughter, "You still missed me, Rin!"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up and start scrubbing! I'm going to go get a bath token," She rubs her butt when she gets up.

"You haven't gotten one already, what have you been doing?" Chihiro asks.

Rin gives her an annoyed look before disappearing around the corner.

"Hurry up, Rin, you can't expect me to clean this myself," She jokes.

Rin pokes her head around the wall and sticks her tongue out at her.

xxxxxxxx

Chihiro sits down on the balcony, looking over the sea. The hum of chatter has died down as people fall asleep. Rin brings her some food and sits down beside her. Chihiro hangs her legs off, wrapping her arms around the railing. This is probably the best time of the day for her, she can finally relax and watch the calming waves of the water below and listen to the swooshing like a pulse.

"So, you and Haku, huh?" She nudges Chihiro.

Chihiro blushes, "You couldn't tell before?"

"Pfft, everyone could tell, you just haven't talked to me about it," Rin prods on, reminding her of Leah.

"Well, the first time I was here, I really liked Haku but now I realize that it might have been what everyone was saying it was," Chihiro says almost to herself.

Rin nods, "Mhm and that was?"

"Love?" Chihiro's voice shakes.

"You love Haku?!" Rin grins, "You love Haku!"

Chihiro almost chokes on her food, "Shh!"

"It's not that hard to tell," Rin rolls her eyes.

"I know it's not, we weren't trying to hide it, but we haven't had that much time to talk to each other yet," Chihiro scowls.

Rin looks at her, "Okay, okay. So when did you plan to talk to him about it?"

Chihiro thinks a moment, "I'm not sure. Soon, but I'm not in too much of a rush, I'm not going back to the human world."

"What?!" Rin asks with her mouth full, "You're not going back to the human world?! Why?!"

Chihiro giggles, "Because I want to stay here. I can stay here and live forever, like you," She grins widely.

"How?!" Rin has yet to swallow her food.

Chihiro explains to Rin everything that happened. They were trying to keep from everyone knowing about Lord Yamashita to keep the workers from worrying. She goes on to explain that Haku had given part of his immortality to Chihiro to save her from drowning in his river and that's what connected them.

"Why didn't he tell you that when you were first here?" Rin asks.

Chihiro shrugs, "Because he wanted me to grow up with my parents and he wanted me to experience the human world. He still planned to come to me," She explains.

Rin nods, "That sounds like Haku, now that he's not being controlled by Yubaba."

Chihiro smirks, "I squashed… the slug."

They both burst out laughing.

"Hey! Quite down, will you?!" A worker snaps.

"Sorry!" Chihiro whispers.

xxxxxxxx

"Excuse me! Excuse me, I'm sorry," Chihiro fights through the crowd of workers, "I'm just trying to get an order."

"Hey!"

"Get out of the way!"

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get an order, excuse me," She pushes through the people and finally makes it to the food. She balances it on her shoulder and begins back through, "Excuse me, sorry, sorry,"

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A woman snaps.

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to get through," She carefully maneuvers through the people without spilling the food on the floor, "Excuse me, sorry."

Finally she gets past the kitchen and she hurriedly walks through the baths until she gets to the bath where Rin is scrubbing a Spirit, "Oh, finally," She mumbles.

Chihiro sets the food down on a table beside the bath, "Here you go, sir, I hope you enjoy it," She bows to him and backs away.

Rin sets the scrubber down in a corner and goes over to stand besides Chihiro. She wipes the sweat from her forehead, "I'm ready for this day to be over."

Chihiro listens to the commotion around them, "Is it always this busy?"

Rin nods, "Since you have been here, there have been rumors about a strange spirit working here."

"But I'm not a spirit?"

Rin nods, "I know, but that's what people are saying."

"Rin, Sen, you are needed at bath forty three," The foreman calls.

"We're not even finished with him yet!?" Rin calls back.

The spirit waves them on as it lifts a chicken up to its mouth and swallows it.

"This is ridiculous, giving us a customer before we're even finished with the first, why have we been the only ones to get this many customers today?!" Rin complains on the way down to bath forty three.

They round the corner to see a large creature. He's about as tall as a radish spirit and as wide. His looks like a dried desert floor, its cracked and peeling. His hands are large with long nails at the ends, but his feet are stubby and flat. He hunches over, leaning on one hand. Chihiro steps back away from him.

"Right this way, sir," Rin forces a smile.

They both turn and show him into the bath. Rin studies him for a moment, trying to figure out what bath would best be beneficial to him, "Sen, would you go and get me a honeysuckle bath token?"

Chihiro nods and hurries down the hall to the foreman. As she passes the baths, she notices that there are many of these new spirits in the bathhouse, all with cracked skin. She ignores the odd feeling and walks up to the foreman.

"I need a honeysuckle bath token, please," She holds her hands out.

The foreman eyes her, but doesn't give her much of a fuss, "Here."

She hurries back to the bath forty three, "Here, Rin."

Rin has the door open and she holds her hand out for the token, "Thank you, he's ordered food. I've already put the order in, just go to the kitchen and ask for bath forty three's order."

"Got it!" Chihiro rushes back out onto the floor.

She can't remember ever seeing the bathhouse this busy before. She didn't realize she would ever bring interest to the bathhouse by just being here, "Excuse me."

Everyone is pushing towards the kitchen and the chefs are struggling to keep up with the orders, "Hold on a minute!" A chef snaps.

"We're working as fast as we can!" Another says.

Chihiro continues to push through the crowd, "Sorry, excuse me," She gets to the front, "Do you have the order for bath forty three?"

The frog looks at her, annoyed, "I'm working on it!"

"Okay, okay," She backs away, trying not to be moved by the wave of people.

"Get out of the way!" A woman shouts.

"He's almost done with my order, can you hold on a minute," She asks as politely as possible.

The woman's face gets red, "We are all waiting for an order here!"

"Hold on a second," She pleads, desperately.

Finally the chef sets the plate down on the table in front of her, "Order for bath forty three."

"Thank you!" Chihiro picks up the order and rushes away.

Luckily now the crowd has died down in the kitchen and it isn't as much as a struggle to get out. She paces down the hall and turns to bath forty three. She sets the food down beside the spirit and backs away, as she has learned to do whenever giving food to a spirit as they seem to just reach other and grab.

Rin is pouring the water over the spirit until it holds its hand up for her to stop.

"I've never seen this kind of spirit before," Rin whispers to Chihiro.

Chihiro feels a lump growing in her throat, "I think that's probably because they don't usually come here…"

"Why?" Rin asks.

"Because they are from Fall Forest…" She gives Rin an urgent look, "Haku!" She breathes.


	10. Chapter 10: Fate

Chapter 10: Fate

Chihiro tries to keep from looking too alarmed. The spirit keeps eyeing her making her uneasy. Rin nervously shifts back and forth beside her. It doesn't take long for Haku to show up. He calmly walks into the bath and stops next to Chihiro. She looks up at him, putting as much warning in her eyes as possible.

Haku looks over at the spirit, studying it, "How has Yubaba missed this?" He wonders aloud.

The spirit looks over at him, its eyes piercing through them.

"A surprise attack?" Chihiro says under her breath.

"Rin, go warn Yubaba, now!" Haku orders, "But don't give them a reason to suspect that we're onto them."

"Uh? Why do I have to do it?!" She snaps, trying not to raise her voice.

Chihiro and Haku both give her a bewildered look.

"Fine!" She storms off.

The spirit seems to sneer as it settles in the water.

"What are we going to do? The bathhouse is full of them!" Chihiro wipes her hands on her uniform.

Haku grabs her arm and pulls her out into the hall, "How many are there?"

"Maybe a dozen? I saw most of the baths are taken by them," She tries to think of how many she had seen.

"We have to get you out of here," He begins to turn and runs into a Fall Forest spirit.

It slowly looks down at him, then to Chihiro.

"Get out of the way!" A worker yells, irritated.

"There are no more baths available, I'm sorry sir, you will have to wait," Haku snaps.

The worker peeks around the spirit, "Oh, I didn't see you, sir…" He stammers, "But I was just told to-"

"There are no baths available," Haku repeats.

The spirit raises his arms and slams his fists down to the floor. Suddenly, the other spirits jumps from their baths, perching on the dividers. Haku stands in front of Chihiro, backing up against the wall. Workers scream and panic, running to the nearest exits. The bathhouse begins to shake and the spirits move closer.

"We have to go," Haku grabs her arm and flies past the jumping spirits.

He heads for the entrance of the bathhouse but the exits are now being guarded by them so he has no choice but to turn up the stairs. Crawling like bugs along the walls, the spirits follow them, coming from all directions. When they get to the third floor, Haku stops and turns Chihiro to look at him.

"I am going to cast an invisible spell on you, but it won't last long, so use it wisely and get out of here!" Haku says.

"But what about you?" She holds onto him.

He moves hair behind her ear and caresses her face, "I have something to protect."

He holds his pointer finger and thumb together in front of him and blows. Chihiro vanishes and she slinks against the wall, "Be careful Haku!"

"You too, now go!" He looks at a spirit that has just made it over the railing and he takes off the other direction.

Chihiro waits for the spirit to pass, just realizing how badly they smell. As a dozen or so chase after Haku, she creeps alongside the wall. She can press against the wall, which means if she accidently gets in the way of one of them, she will be noticed. She looks out over the bathhouse that has now been destroyed. Fall Forest spirits lurk, guarding exits and pacing through the halls.

"Let go of me!" Rin yells, struggling in the arms of a spirit.

Chihiro panics, trying to think of a way to help her.

The spirit starts downstairs with her kicking and throwing her arms around in every direction. He takes her to the largest bath and plops her down. She complains, cursing at the spirit. Chihiro sneaks down after him, avoiding the pacing spirits. She gets to the big bath and peers around the spirit at Rin, pouting with all of her limbs crossed.

She gets on her hands and knees and crawls through the little space left between the spirit and the divider. When she gets to the other side, she goes over beside Rin. Thinking of a way to not alarm her, she takes the soap from a pail and begins to write in front of her. Rin gasps and when the spirit turns around, she stretches her legs to cover the writing.

"_It's Chihiro, Haku made me invisible."_

Rin nods.

Chihiro then stands, looking around the bath. She can't think of any way to distract the spirits so that Rin can escape. She looks back over at the pail in the corner. Quietly, she picks it up, carrying it over to the divider to the other bath. She turns the empty pail over and stands on it. Her eyes continuously glance over at the spirit. She takes the soap and throws it as hard as she can to the other side of the room. It drops in the furthest bath away from them. The spirits jump and rush over to the bath, even the one standing guard for Rin.

Rin jumps to her feet and takes off down the hall, Chihiro close behind her. They stop just before the entrance where two spirits stills stand guard. Chihiro looks around for something to throw. Rin hides in a corner, concealed with drapes. Chihiro gets down again, crawling over to the other side when she hears something behind her and her eyes look down at her hand that is rapidly turning her skin color.

The spirits look over at her and give out an ear deafening screech. As they run towards her, she flattens herself against the floor and holds her hands over her head, bracing herself when Rin pulls the drapes low to the floor above her, making them trip and fall.

"Run!" Rin yells and they dart out of the bathhouse.

A large crashing sound is heard behind them and Chihiro glances back, "They are following us!"

"You didn't expect them to give up that easily, did you?" Rin asks in a sarcastic tone.

They run down through the town and make a quick turn up the small hill. Chihiro looks up at the top of the bathhouse where Yubaba should be when something comes crashing out of the windows, "Did you tell Yubaba?!"

"The spirits were already there when I got up there, that's how I got caught," Rin explains, breathing hard.

"Lord Yamashita…"

"Lord Yamashita?!" Rin exclaims, "He's the one that took you?!"

Chihiro doesn't say anything.

"He's the most evil spirit in the Spirit World!" Rin's eyes are wide with terror.

Chihiro still doesn't say anything.

"He has an army! And their babies are taking over the bathhouse!" She looks back to the large spirits chasing after them.

Haku and Yubaba suddenly land in front of them.

"You got out safe!" Haku hugs Chihiro.

Chihiro nods, "What about Boh?!"

Yubaba glares down at Chihiro, "He's with Zeniba!"

The Fall Forest spirits surround them, "It's too bad we don't have everyone here for this reunion…" Lord Yamashita lands behind Chihiro and Rin.

"You stupid man, you just don't know when to give up, do you!?" Yubaba snaps.

He faintly chuckles, "I would say the same for all of you."

"We aren't using her for evil, selfish reasons," Haku says, surprisingly calm, "In fact, we aren't using her at all. She's with us because she wants to be."

"She could be with me because she wanted!" Yamashita says desperately, "I was so very close to giving her that potion just before you came and took her away from me!"

Chihiro grips her fingers into fists.

"Nonetheless, you see, I am back to retrieve her so I may go back to my plans and I will pretend that nothing happened. That you worthless beings didn't try to get in my way," His voice is filled with acid.

No Face appears behind him, opening his mouth as wide as it will go and he swallows him. The spirits around them look around in amazement, but start to jump when Yubaba puts a barrier around them.

Rin can't help but nervously laugh.

"What are you doing?!" Haku acts surprised, "He's going to kill you."

"But this way, you will have time to get away," No Face says in Yamashita's voice.

Yubaba laughs, hysterically, "There is a good use for you."

"This isn't a laughing matter," Haku looks concerned now, "He's powerful enough to…"

No Face smiles, "I know, I'm doing it for Sen- Chihiro."

"Thank you no face…" Chihiro touches his hand, "It means a lot to me that you would do this…"

"Ahhh! Ahhhhhhh! Ugh!" No Face holds himself just as he opens his mouth.

Lord Yamashita pulls through, throwing No Face to the side.

"No Face!" Both Rin and Chihiro kneel down beside him.

"Ahh…" His voice is weak.

"He bought you some time, but you used it foolishly," He growls, pulling slim from his cloths and wiping it from his face.

Yubaba laughs again, loudly.

He glares up at her, "I'm very sick of you."

"Huh?" She looks at him.

"Go away!" His eyes flicker towards the cliff.

Yubaba is thrown off the cliff and down into the water.

"Yubaba!" Chihiro runs to the barrier and tries to see over it.

"She's going to be really mad at you now…" Rin warns.

He snaps a look at Rin.

Yubaba rises from the water, dripping wet. Her eyes glow fire and steam comes out of her nose, "You will regret that!"

She throws a strong spell towards them. Haku shields Chihiro, but they are knocked down on top of Rin.

"Get off me!" She complains.

The spirits and Lord Yamashita were all knocked down around the barrier. Dust rises around them as they struggle to get up.

"I barely tolerated you destroying my bathhouse and running my customers away!" Yubaba snaps, throwing another spell at him, "But I've had enough of you and it's time for you to go!"

Lord Yamashita has no time to react to another spell thrown at him.

"You've overstayed your welcome and it's time for you to leave!" She yells, throwing another spell at him.

"I would be happy too if I could just take what belongs to me!" He reaches for Chihiro.

Haku holds her against him, "Come and get her then!"

Lord Yamashita collects himself.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" Chihiro has had enough of Lord Yamashita.

He laughs, still dusting himself off, "I am not the one to give up easily."

"That is apparent," Rin rolls her eyes.

"Well, it's time to learn!" Yubaba snaps, throwing another spell at him.

Haku steps forward, conjuring as much power as he can and he releases it. Lord Yamashita is thrown backwards and the spirits break down the barriers, grabbing them. It takes three to hold Haku. Yubaba doesn't stop throwing spells at him. Yamashita struggles against the constant hits of spells.

Finally, he throws one back, knocking Yubaba back down into the water.

He gets up, anger fuming in his eyes.

"I will never open the gates for you!" Chihiro snaps.

He waves his hand, zipping her mouth shut.

Haku still struggles when he sees the Yamashita is approaching him, "You're a coward, having to use your spirits to do the work for you!"

Lord Yamashita sneers, "And it's working out quite well so far."

He holds his hands in front of him, a dark red glowing appears and grows bigger. His eyes look as if they've been engulfed in flames. The spell has grown as big as his chest and he brings it back, preparing to throw it forward, "Once you're out of the way, there will be nothing to worry about."

Haku braces himself, preparing to die. Yamashita propels it forward; the fireball leaves the Lord's fingertips, hurling it towards Haku. It is so close that he can feel the heat from it. He closes his eyes and leans forward into it.

"No! Sen!" Rin screams.

The heat disappears and a whimper sounds in the air.

Haku opens his eyes to Chihiro lying on the ground in front of him, steam rising from her uniform, "No!"

"What?!" Lord Yamashita looks around, confused, "Wha-? How?! How did this happen!?"

The spirit who was holding her looks down at his claws.

Haku fights the spirits off and he drops to his knees beside Chihiro. He lifts her up into his arms, "Chihiro!?"

"Open your eyes, Sen!" Rin nudges her.

Chihiro lays limply in Haku's arms.

"No!" Lord Yamashita bellows, "No!"

Haku passes Chihiro to Rin who holds her tightly.

He stands, eyes lighting the green blaze. Green fire surrounds him, "You killed her."

"No!" Lord Yamashita panics.

Haku flies at him, pushing him off the cliff. He punches him on the way down until they hit the water. Yamashita doesn't realize that Haku is water, he is a river spirit and he has better control here than on land. Haku holds his hands out in front of him, his eyes glowing bright. Suddenly, the water pulls Yamashita down into the darkness. Haku waits for a moment, watching down into the darkness. When he returns back to the cliff, the Fall Forest spirits are fading away. Yubaba stands behind Rin while she holds Chihiro, rocking her back and forth in her lap.

Haku kneels down, "What can we do?"

"Nothing…" Yubaba looks down to the ground, "She's gone…"

And Chihiro's body fades out of Rin's arms...


	11. Chapter 11: Lost

Chapter 11: Lost

Chihiro is pulled into white mist that hangs thick in the air. She waves her hand in front of her as an attempt to see through it more clearly. "Hello?" She hesitantly calls out into the haze.

Light sounds begin to fill the air. They are soft and warm as if she can feel them humming against her skin. Cautiously she walks towards it. The mist makes it hard to see her surroundings. She can't tell if it's her eyes or the fog, but if it didn't push down on her, she would think it was her eyes.

This world is strangely familiar. She knows that she is dead, but it doesn't bother her. She is comfortable here, warm and content. The mist thins and she can see more around her as she walks through. Colorful trees come into view and the grass beneath her bare feet is soft and welcoming. White butterflies pass by her, filling the air like snow.

The mist gets clearer as she walks, but doesn't subside. A small waterfall to her left fills a rippling pond. The light bounces off the small waves sending colors through the air. The willow trees lean over the pond, draping its leaves like a curtain. Turtles perch on a willow root that sticks just above the water's surface.

She kneels down and runs her fingertips over the water. She cups it in her hands and drinks. The water tastes sweet and only takes a sip to fill her stomach. This is when she realizes that she's naked, but still, she doesn't care. It's where she is supposed to be, how she is supposed to be.

"I'm sorry Chihiro… I couldn't protect you…" Haku's voice is a whisper with the breeze.

Chihiro instantly stops and looks up, "Haku?"

"Why did you jump in front of it? Why couldn't you just let me go…" His voice echoes over the water.

She stands, looking all around her, "You're so much more than I am, Haku. You're a spirit and your life has meaning. I am no one, it won't do anything to lose me…"

"I need you Chihiro, I was without you for so long and now you're gone," His voice fades.

"Haku!" She runs in the direction she thinks his voice came from, "I couldn't just let you die!"

She waits for a response, but nothing stirs.

The soft sounds resume, humming in the trees.

"Is that it?" She asks into the air.

Again, no response.

She lays down on the bank of the pond, resting her hand in the water. The grass beneath her acts as a pillow, cushioning her every curve. It is a beautiful place and it's comfortable and warm, but she didn't think she could feel sadness while she was dead. Hearing Haku's voice and not being able to find him was very upsetting. She would much rather live in a world with Haku, where she could see him and touch him.

It feels like days pass.

She finally decides to walk, taking a near stone path over a small knoll. As she climbs, a small town appears into her view. The buildings are small and a large fountain sits in the middle. She walks down through, approaching the buildings. It reminds her much of when she first entered into the Spirit World with her parents. As she gets closer she can see that its vacant. The small houses look old, but not old enough to abandon.

"Hello?" She calls.

The fountain water grows louder the closer she gets to the center.

"Chihiro Ogino…" A soft beautiful voice calls through the thick atmosphere.

Chihiro stops, "Is someone there?"

"Walk forward, child."

Her eyes scan for the source of the voice. When she is able to see the fountain, someone leans over the edge, running their fingers through the water. Hesitantly, she steps closer, watching the spirit closely. Her long blonde hair dips into the water and her white flowing dress catches every edge in the breeze.

"I knew you were going to come, but I didn't expect you would like this," The woman finally turns; her bright blue eyes light her aura.

Chihiro freezes, struck with awe.

"Come, sit," She pats the surface beside her.

"Who are you?" Chihiro stammers.

The beautiful woman smiles delicately, "I am the spirit well known as Mother Nature. I come in two forms, this being my spirit."

Chihiro gawks at her.

"You are an incredible being, Chihiro," She rests her hands in front of her, "Not many people will make sacrifices as you have."

Chihiro isn't sure what to say.

"I see that Haku has also sacrificed for you," She reaches over and pulls a silky string from Chihiro's chest, "Part of his immortality?"

Chihiro nods, "He saved me when I was a little girl when I dropped my shoe into his river."

"You have surpassed many obstacles with both of your sacrifices and love," Mother Earth says as if seeing it in front of her eyes.

Chihiro nods, "We've been through a lot."

"Do you miss the human world?" She asks.

"I miss Leah, and my parents," Chihiro thinks aloud.

The beautiful woman nods, "And if you, again, had the choice to return to the human world, would you?"

Chihiro's eyes widen, "I… uh…"

The woman waits patiently.

It isn't something she's thought about much, partially because she's wanted to return to the Spirit World so badly. What was waiting for her in the human world? Her job at the library? College classes that would turn into a job? Not being able to see Haku? Nothing of which she looked forward too. She finds that her life fits much better here.

"I would choose to stay in the Spirit World," Chihiro says, confident in her answer.

Mother Nature nods, "And if I showed you this?"

A vision appears in front of her. Her parents are together, holding each other tightly. She can see they are together again, mourning over the loss of their child. But they are together, with each other for company. That's much more than what they used to do. Chihiro smiles and the vision slowly fades.

Her life would change greatly if her parents had gotten back together, but the damage was done. They weren't together almost her entire teenage life, nothing would change much now, "I would still choose to stay here."

"Why?"

Chihiro shrugs, "It took losing me to get back together. Maybe this will bring them closer. Maybe this is what they needed?"

The beautiful woman smiles and nods, "But what if I showed you Leah?"

Another vision appears. Leah is on her bed, crying softly into her pillow. Chihiro's things have been taken from the dorm room and it seems another roommate has moved in. Leah holds a picture of her and Chihiro in her arms. She seems to be alone and lost. No one is there to comfort her, not even Jamie. The vision fades.

Chihiro frowns, "I can't leave Leah like that…"

"Would you go back to the human world for that?" She asks.

Again, Chihiro thinks. Leah was Chihiro's second best friend after she had moved and although she may have gotten a little annoyed by her constant talking, she enjoyed Leah's company. But, Leah has more than her in the human world. She has family, siblings, to help her through the hard times, sometimes she's just too stubborn to go seek help and comfort. For Chihiro to only go back to the human world for Leah she would be leaving behind so much more, not that she didn't care about Leah.

She painfully answers, "I would stay in the Spirit World…"

"Why?"

Chihiro looks up at her, "Because Leah is an amazing person and she has a lot of friends and her siblings. She has a lot more there than I would."

The woman nods.

"They are the only people I would go back for, if I were going to, but I think I'm meant to be here, in the Spirit World… Well, I was…" She trails off, "What is this place anyways?"

Mother Nature smiles, "This is where human spirits pass through after they have passed away. Here they take a path to where ever they are meant to go."

"So I am dead?" She finally asks just to confirm her expectation.

"Yes, child, but this death was a gift," Mother Nature says.

Chihiro looks at her confused, "How?"

"Because without it, you would have been a human living in the Spirit World. That simply isn't possible. Not forever. Since Haku gave you part of his immortality and because of the sacrifices you have made, it would only take death to give you the eternal gift of being a true spirit."

"I'm going to be a real spirit?" Chihiro says slowly.

Mother Nature nods with a grin, "Yes. You are very lucky, Chihiro, because most spirits are created, never turned."

"What will happen?" She looks down at her hands.

The woman stands. Her long hair reaches past her hips, "When you died, you left your human body behind. It faded because you were not meant to die in this world."

"What happened to my body?" She can't help but ask.

"It returned to the last spot you were in, in the human world," Mother Nature looks down at her, sadly, "There you will be found, dead."

"Oh…"

The beautiful woman then gently tilts Chihiro's head down and she pulls out the purple hair tie her friends had made for her during her first visit to the Spirit World, "You will be given a spirit body and of course a few powers that I know you will only use for good."

Chihiro feels excitement run through her body, "What powers will I have?"

"That, my child, you will have to find out yourself on your journey back to the Spirit World," She explains.

"My journey back?" She repeats, "You're not going to send me back?"

The beautiful woman laughs, "This journey will tell you much about yourself that you may have not known."

"How will I know how to get back? What if I get lost?" Chihiro asks, concerned. She isn't sure she trusts herself to get back.

"You will feel the Spirit World call for you and your body will seem to pull you towards the portal," Mother Nature explains.

Chihiro nods.

Mother Nature looks her over. She walks circles around her until she stops in front of her, "I will give you the appearance that will hardly do you justice."

Chihiro looks at her awkwardly.

The woman runs her hand over her hair. She then runs her hand over Chihiro's eyes and she pulls up on her shoulders. Her hair lengthens and turns a golden brown along with her eyes, a golden hazel. Her skin glistens as if it were made of millions of tiny crystals. Mother Nature steps back from her work and presses her lips into a content smile, "There you are."

Chihiro lifts her hair between her fingers, "This is my hair?!"

The woman nods, giving her back the hair tie, "You're very lucky to have the friends that you do, that hair tie will stay with you when you die."

Chihiro looks down at the shimmering purple hair tie, "They are good friends," She agrees.

Chihiro braids her hair and ends it with the hair tie, "Am I going to return to the Spirit World naked?!"

Again, the beautiful woman laughs, "No, my child."

"What do I do when I return?" She sits back down on the edge of the fountain.

"You can resume your life as a spirit," Mother Nature smiles.

"I won't have a job to do?" She asks in hope of being important like all the other spirits she's come to know.

The woman rests her hand on Chihiro's shoulder, "Your journey may tell you," She brings Chihiro's attention to another path leading in a different direction than where she came, "This is your path that only your feet may walk upon."

Chihiro gets up and lightly steps on the stone path, "What if I get lost? What if I can't find my way? What if the Spirit World doesn't pull me back?"

Mother Nature gives her a beautiful smile, "Trust in yourself, Chihiro. Only you can take this journey."

Chihiro looks forward but hesitates, looking back to where Mother Nature was sitting, but she has disappeared. For a moment, she's afraid, but she steps forward and the more steps she takes, the less fear she has. She walks up another knoll and down. The mist is completely gone now and she can finally see the blue sky and soft green trees.

She walks on for what seems hours before she feels as if she is being pulled. With excitement and adrenaline, she races forward. A portal appears down the path. Trees make the arch, welcoming her back home. She approaches the clear, colorful world and looks back. White mist looms over the ground as it had before.

She steps into the Spirit World. The breeze picks up her uniform. The sweet smell of flowers from the herb garden fills her nose. The bathhouse looks repaired, sitting proudly among the small town. She returns, but this time as a Spirit.


	12. Chapter 12: Recovery (Part 1)

Chapter 12: Recovery (Part 1)

Rin watches Haku taking care of customers from across the room. It seems nowadays he has a permanent scowl on his face. The bathhouse was repaired and has resumed its usual business. Yubaba hasn't been seen in days from draining her energy to fix the bathhouse. Zeniba came to help and they both worked together to get it done. No Face was badly wounded and has been resting in the boiler room with Kamaji.

"Rin!" Haku yells over the crowd.

She stops and waits for him to reach her.

"Don't worry about the big bath, someone else will take care of it," He says.

Rin sighs with relief. The large bath is always a reminder of Sen anyways, "Thank you, Haku."

It's just a normal day of work, cleaning and serving. Rin finds herself in the kitchen filling a carrier with stars for the soot balls and grabbing lunch for Kamaji. She slowly descends down the stairs and crawls, carefully, into the boiler room. Her face hits the head and it instantly warms her body. She stands up and sees Kamaji working away while No Face sleeps with a small blanket over him. As soon as the soot balls notice her, they drop the large lumps of coal and scramble over to the edge at her feet.

She places Kamaji's food next to him and kneels down to pour the stars for the soot balls. She then plops down to sit on the edge.

"Don't look so down, Rin…" Kamaji turns to her.

"You should see Haku," She pauses, "It just looks like a part of him died."

"A part of him has," Kamaji says.

Rin sighs.

Kamaji climbs off of his chair and walks over to Rin, patting her on the back, "She would be proud of you all."

"Tell that to Haku," Rin mutters.

Kamaji sighs, "This wound is going to take a while to heal."

"I should have made her turn around; I should have made her go back…" Rin buries her face in her hands.

"There's no good in blaming yourself, that'll only make matters worse," Kamaji takes the plate from his workplace with his long arm.

"How is No Face?" Rin asks, changing the subject.

Kamaji chews, looking over at him, "He's better. Been sleeping a lot lately, though."

Rin nods, "That's good, that's what he needs."

Haku walks into the boiler room and stops, surprised to see everyone there, "How are you doing Rin?"

Rin nods.

"How are you doing Haku?" Kamaji asks.

Haku ignores his question, "How is No Face?"

"He's doing better," Kamaji answers, not bothered by being ignored.

"I've just got done checking on Yubaba, Zeniba is taking care of her and Boh," He says, sitting beside Rin, "I've never seen them get along so well, but I'm sure that will change when Yubaba feels better."

"I would bet on it," Kamaji jokes.

They sit and talk for a few hours. They try to stay off the subject of Chihiro. It has only been a few days since her passing or maybe it was already weeks? It was a subject the entire bathhouse kept from speaking of. Yubaba was even upset with the situation. In a way, she kinda liked the pathetic human and that human even brought in more customers, making her more money in the process.

Haku perks up, his ears turning like that of a dragon, listening.

"What is it?" Rin asks.

He stands, sensing the air, "A human, I sense a human!"

Before anyone can ask anything, Haku rushes out of the door. The heavy door slams behind him as he flies up the stairs and across the bridge. He follows the scent of the human down the hill to the grassy green field that will soon be covered in water. A head appears as they walk up the knoll. As they get closer, the shadowy body materializes. He looks up at him, his eyes wide with fear.

"Hello?" He looks at Haku cautiously.

Haku shakes his head, confused, "How did you get through?"

The boy looks back to the old, abandoned amusement park, "I was just wandering and smelled food, I decided to check it out."

"That's impossible, the gates can't open…" Haku cuts off.

"Is this place open?" He asks.

Haku looks up at the sky and quickly reaches out. He pulls him up on the steps before the water engulfs the valley, "You need to come with me."

"What… What just happened?!"

"What is your name?" Haku asks, walking back towards the bathhouse.

"Ike," The boy answers noticing shadowy spirits appear.

Haku grips onto the bottom of his shirt, trying to forget the excitement of thinking Chihiro had somehow returned. He stops at a stall and picks up a small piece of chicken, "Thank you," He bows to the vender and hands it to Ike, "Eat this."

"Don't I need to pay for this?!"

Haku glances at him, "I paid for you."

Ike shrugs and bites into the delicious, tender chicken, "Wow, this is amazing!"

Haku sighs, walking up the stairs to the bathhouse.

"A bathhouse?" Ike says, much like Chihiro did when she first visited the Spirit World.

"Hi, welcome back," The frogs are standing at the bridge, "Hello, Mater Haku-"

"Another human?!" The other exclaims.

Haku nods, walking past them.

Spirits gawk at them.

Ike can't help but stare, holding his chicken close to his face, "Where am I? Some kind of costume party?"

Haku doesn't answer him.

"Where are we going?" Ike asks, following Haku down stairs.

Haku touches the railing, remembering Chihiro.

They enter the boiler room where Rin, Kamaji and No Face still sit. Rin looks up, hoping to see Chihiro when her and Ike's eyes lock. For a moment, she doesn't care that she's staring at him until she realizes how obvious it is and she turns her nose up at him. He nervously smiles and leans against the wall beside him.

"Everyone, this is Ike," Haku introduces him to the group in a bored tone.

"Hi everyone," He waves and his eyes drop down to the soot balls, "What. Are. Those. Things?"

Kamaji takes his goggles off and squints his eyes at him, "He's taking this much better than little Chihiro did," He observes, "Yet again, he is older. He actually might be a little older than her?"

"Huh?" He looks at them awkwardly, "What are you talking about?"

"You're in the Spirit World," Haku finally says.

Ike looks down at the soot balls again. His eyes then move to No Face and Kamaji. His face gets pale and he looks at the almost finished chicken, "Wha-?" And he falls backwards.

"Maybe I spoke too soon?" Kamaji chuckles.

Rin rushes over to help Haku get him up, "I will get bed spreading around for him."

"That would be a good idea," Haku picks him up and carries him over beside No Face.

"How do you think he got through?" Kamaji asks, looking him over.

Haku sighs, "I'm not sure. I can't think of another way the gates could be open besides…" He can't say her name.

Kamaji thinks a moment, "Maybe the gate is disturbed now?"

Haku looks down at Ike, "I can't think of anything else."

Rin quickly crawls back into the boiler room, "Here we are!"

She quickly puts the bedding down and Haku lays Ike on top of them, "You wouldn't mind more company, would you Kamaji?" Haku asks.

Kamaji laughs, "The more the merrier."


	13. Chapter 13: Recovery (Part 2)

Chapter 13: Recovery (Part 2)

Haku decides not to tell Yubaba about their new visitor, Ike. She is still recovering and Ike still sleeps. Rin has taken it upon herself to stay with him in case he wakes up. She knows if No Face is the first person he sees he'll pass right out. Kamaji has been called back to work, at the inconvenience to the nosy soot balls that are so curious about the new being that they are often hopping up to look over the edge.

In the soothing pattern of Kamaji's work, a commotion is heard from behind the small hatch into the boiler room, "Haku!" Boh can barely crawl through into the boiler room, "I want to see Sen, now!" He demands.

No one knows that to say.

"Mama said she went back to the human world, but I know she's lyin'!" He is finally able to stand. He looks down at the group, angrily.

Haku's face turns red.

"Sen isn't here anymore," Rin says quickly, "She went back to the human world, Yubaba wasn't lying!"

Boh just stares at her for a moment before his eyes begin to tear and his face twists into a pout, "She didn't say goodbye to me!" He bellows.

"Alright, calm down, Boh," Kamaji says, but doesn't stop working.

Boh glares over at the man.

"You should go back upstairs, your mom is going to get worried," Haku says as calmly as he can.

"What _is_ that?" Ike asks loudly, drawing Boh's attention to him, "That is a costume right? He isn't real?"

"Who's that?" Boh points to the human.

Rin scoots into his line of sight.

"Nothing, go on now," Haku starts pushing him towards the door.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to cry and tell my mama!" He yells, puffing up with tears in his eyes.

"No, no! Don't say anything!" Rin pleads.

He stops pouting, "Then tell me!" He hisses.

"He's a human," Rin says, "He came through the gate, like Sen did."

Boh looks at her confused, "Why did he come here? Why did Sen leave?" He asks.

Haku sighs, "It's complicated Boh, now you should go back up to your mother, you're going to get in trouble."

Boh doesn't look amused, "She won't yell at me or I'll start cryin'," He says stubbornly.

"I'm going to guess he's real?" Ike says behind them.

Kamaji fills his last order and can finally relax, "Everyone here is real, human. This is the Spirit World."

"The Spirit World…" He repeats robotically.

Rin is about to say something when the silence stops her.

The room settles.

Boh looks up at the ceiling that no longer taps with hurried footsteps.

It almost seems as if the bathhouse has just stopped.

Haku doesn't and he rushed up to the main level. The workers and spirits are all filing out of the building. People whisper with interest and curiosity. He slowly follows them, trying to think of what it could be. Yubaba has even decided to make her first appearance to see for herself. Haku can't help but notice how good she looks, as if nothing had ever happened. Zeniba stands at the entrance, peering over the crowd.

"What is it?" Haku asks.

Zeniba doesn't look at him, "I'm not sure, but it's something…"

Yubaba snorts, "It better be with all my workers out here!"

"Oh, you work them to the bone anyways, they could use a break once in a while," Zeniba snaps, annoyed.

Yubaba rolls her eyes.

Haku pushes through with both Yubaba and Zeniba following. The crowd parts for them. They make a path and he looks down, his eyes rest on a girl kneeling to speak with the small, bewildered frog.

His heart beats hard against his ribs and his hands instantly get clammy.

She looks up at him with her honey brown eyes and her honey brown braid draped around her shoulder. Her skin glistens, giving her a natural glow. She smiles and stands, pushing the loose hair from her face and behind her ear. They stare at each other for a long moment. Haku knows who she is, but his muscles are frozen, he can't move forward. It was hard not to believe that he wasn't dreaming.

"Haku," Her voice is smooth and warm.

He doesn't say anything; he just stands, frozen, feeling the rush of hearing her voice run through his body.

Without warning, she jumps into his arms. After his shock calms, he finally wraps his arms around her tightly. She buries her face in his chest, feeling his heart racing against her ear. They are like this for a while, ignoring the cooing crowd. Before he stops himself, he pulls her away and lifts her chin up with his fingers. He presses his lips against hers for the first time.

"How did this happen?" He doesn't let her go, he holds her tight to him.

Chihiro looks up at him with a wide smile, "You gave me a part of your immortality. Mother Nature gave me the life of a spirit!"

He holds her against him again, "You're here… you're safe!"

She nods, "But only because of you."

"I'm so sorry!" He looks into her eyes, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save you and I'm sorry you had to go through all of this!"

Chihiro smiles, "If it didn't happen, I wouldn't be a spirit. It happened like this for a reason!"

"I can't lose you again," He holds her in his arms hoping to never miss this feeling again.

"You won't," Chihiro says quietly.

He squeezes her before pulling her away to look at her, "You look different?" He observes her.

She nods, "It's my spirit body. My human body was sent back to the human world…" She explains, sadly.

Haku gives her a reassuring smile, "You look beautiful!"

She blushes.

Rin runs over and hugs her from behind "Sen! You're back!"

Chihiro turns to her, wiping stray tears from her eyes, "I'm back."

"Welcome home, Chihiro," Zeniba says from her side.

"Thank you, Granny," She smiles.

"Good that your back, you haven't finished working for me yet!" Yubaba snorts, sticking her nose in the air.

Chihiro chuckles, "It's good to be back, but I have something to take care of, excuse me everyone," She bows.

"Oh?" Haku looks down at her.

"Everyone get back to work before I turn you all into pigs!" Yubaba growls, floating up above their heads.

Chihiro makes her way down to the boiler room with Haku, Rin and Zeniba close behind, "The gates opened while I was away," Chihiro says.

"What about you?" Rin asks.

Chihiro delicately smiles, "It is closed now, nothing to worry about."

They walk into the boiler room where Ike is sitting in front of No Face. He examines him, trying to put his hand through No Face. He looks over and stares at Chihiro, "Uhh, hi?"

Rin snorts.


	14. Chapter 14: The New

Chapter 14: The New

Chihiro delicately smiles down at Ike, "How are you doing? I see you haven't disappeared, that means someone has taken care of you for me."

He awkwardly nods, not sure what she was talking about.

"We fed him, and he slept for a while," Rin says from behind Chihiro.

"Good," She watches Ike stumble to his feet.

He fixes his shirt and bows, "I'm Ike."

Chihiro returns the gesture, "I'm Chihiro."

Kamaji silently gawks at the person he thought was gone.

"Are you ready to return home?" She asks the distraught boy.

He glances around him, especially at Rin, "I couldn't stay a little longer?"

Chihiro thinks with everyone watching her closely. Of course it is up to her whether she allows him to stay or not, she controlled the gates now, or at least she is aware of it now. Rin's pleading eyes beside her rushes her answer, "One night."

"Two?" Rin counter's quickly.

Chihiro rolls her eyes, "Fine two."

Rin and Ike quietly cheer.

Zeniba pulls Chihiro aside, "Where are you going to live now? Surely you don't want to live here?"

Before she can answer Haku steps to the side, "I've already thought about that."

Chihiro looks at him surprised, "Oh really?"

He looks back at her with a nod, "Yes, with me up north beside the river."

"Really?" Zeniba asks.

He nods.

Chihiro isn't sure of what to say.

"You're going away again?" Rin eavesdrops.

"No. She needs to be away for a while. Lord Yamashita is not the only one who is going to want her to open the gates for them," Haku explains.

Chihiro's excitement slightly dies, "Is that the only reason we are going up there?"

Suddenly Haku realizes how he sounded, "No! Of course not! I just want to make sure you're going to be okay and I want to be the one to be there for you."

She then smiles, reassured, "I want to see Ike get home safely before we leave."

Haku nods.

"I'm going to go upstairs," Chihiro collects herself and starts for the small entrance into the bathhouse.

"You've gatta quit going away, Chihiro," Kamaji finally is able to stop from his work to acknowledge her.

"I will, Kamaji!"

"It's nice to see you back!" He says right before two tokens fall in front of him and his face sours.

Chihiro giggles, "I will come back down later."

She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to see Yubaba, "You guys can wait here for me."

Of course, everyone stays but Haku. He follows closely behind her. Now that she is back, he is not going to let her out of his sight, especially now that she is more valuable to everyone else. They take the first elevator as far up as it goes before switching off to the next. A strong tingling begins at the back of her head and she rubs it. It's not an itching or a funny feeling, it's more of fear and warning.

She looks at Haku who's face is hard to read, "Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" He acts clueless.

"A weird tingling?" She continues to rub it, "Back here?"

He shakes his head, "No?" He lies.

They reach the top floor and step out. The doors are the same as always, waiting for a visitor to snap at but when they step in front of them, their eyes stay closed and they are quiet, "That's strange."

Haku opens the door to the dim hall that has stayed small. Her door is eliminated with candle light. When they step into the hall, the doors slam open and Yubaba can barely be seen sitting at her desk. They round the corner to see Boh is sitting in stuffed animals beside her as she looks over papers on her desk.

"Sen!" Boh exclaims making his mother jump out of concentration.

She glares up at them, "How did you get in here?! What do you want?!"

"Don't be mean, mama!" Boh snaps.

Yubaba is about to finally snap at her son when Chihiro speaks, "How are you doing, Yubaba?"

She looks at her suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

"It was you who repaired the bathhouse, wasn't it?" Chihiro asks.

"Yes," She watches her curiously.

"With the help of Zeniba," Haku adds.

Yubaba scowls at him.

Chihiro nods, "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine!" Yubaba answers with a harsh tone, "Why are you asking me these stupid questions? You're wasting my time!"

"At least she's showing you she cares," Haku doesn't hold back his annoyance with her.

Yubaba's eyes look over to him, "I expect her to care! She's the one that destroyed my bathhouse twice so far! Next time she's going to fix it herself!"

"Hopefully there won't be a next time, but if it does, I will personally fix whatever is damaged," Chihiro promises.

"Good!" Yubaba looks back down at her papers.

"Have you come to play with me, Sen?" Boh finally takes the opportunity to ask.

Chihiro gives him an apologetic look, "Not today, Boh. But I will!"

He pouts.

"No you don't!" Yubaba points at Chihiro, "You came up here to make him cry to give me a headache and I won't have it! Get out!"

Haku rushes Chihiro out of her office.

They are pushed out of the doors by an unseen force only to be hissed at by the door knockers, "You're just a bother! Go away!" They snap.

Haku gets her on the elevator, but only goes down one floor. It stops and opens to another loft, but there's no door for privacy. Dividers separate the room into sections like a small apartment. Haku steps out and holds his hand out for Chihiro's. She looks at it curiously. The room is organized and clean, it actually hardly looks like someone resides in it.

"Is this your room?" She asks beginning to explore the space.

"Yes, I stay here," Haku follows her.

"Why haven't you showed me before?" She continues to look around.

He chuckles, "It's been rather hectic lately."

"All the workers should have a room like this," She says, stopping and looking out the large window down to the sea below.

"It would be a tall bathhouse," He jokes.

He stands beside her, their shoulders lightly touching. Haku set's his hand atop of hers and he looks into her eyes, "I missed you…"

Chihiro presses her lips into a smile.

"Please don't do anything like that again…" He grips her hand.

"I will if I have to," She tells him.

He sighs.

The tingling begins in the back of her neck again. She instantly puts her hand on the back of her head and her fingers search for something. There's nothing making her neck feel this way, it's beneath her skin, "Do you feel that?" She asks him again.

He tries not to look at her, "If I told you to stay here, would you do it?"

"Yes, why?" She looks at him confused.

"Because there's something here," He starts to walk back towards the elevator when he stops and looks at her, "Please stay here."

Chihiro bites her lip.

"Please?"

She nods.

"Promise me you'll stay here," He insists.

"I promise…" Chihiro says quietly.

Without stalling anymore, he rushes down into the elevator shaft. Chihiro sprints over and looks down for him. It's too dark to make anything out. The tingling grows stronger and she runs back to the window and strains to see if anything is outside. She digs her nails into her palms in anticipation. She paces in the room, back and forth in front of the elevator. She hopes to hear something through the shaft, but nothing can be heard over the movement of the elevator.

xxxxxxxx

Haku calmly walks around the busy bathhouse looking for anything unusual. So far nothing stood out to him, which made no sense, he had the same feeling that Chihiro had so he knows that there's something here. He makes it to the entrance and looks out to the bridge. An old man comes over the knoll and slowly makes his way to the bridge. He limps with a cane and looks up at Haku with an old smile.

Haku watches him cautiously, maybe it was just someone powerful? "Welcome to the bathhouse," Haku bows to him.

The old man stops and does his best with a bow, "Thank you for greeting me."

Yubaba and Zeniba appear behind Haku.

"Who is that?" Zeniba asks.

"He must be rich," Yubaba says greedily under her breath, "Welcome to my bathhouse!" Yubaba then greets him.

The old man continues to smile as he gets closer.

"Are you here to enjoy an evening?" Yubaba asks.

The old man nods and looks up at her, "An evening should be all that I need."


End file.
